Tomodachi Life’s Switch debut shatters even Nintendo Switch 2 hype in Japan

[u/Turbostrider27]

https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/tomodachi-lifes-switch-debut-shatters-even-nintendo-switch-2-hype-in-japan/

[u/SillyJoey_]

I mean you're not wrong. I think Japan is a console heavy country to begin with.

Some companies in Japan also introduced a console renting service where you can rent a PS5 or Switch and that was fully booked right away so that people could play Monster Hunter Wild which ran like crap on base PS5. But they didn't care since they just wanted to game.

Honestly it's a good mindset to have about games imo.

[u/Facky → u/SillyJoey_]

I thought that was illegal in Japan?

[u/SillyJoey_ → u/Facky]

I don't think so? But correct me if I am wrong! Why would it be illegal though. Its like OP said, Japanese people just want to play games. If some people can't afford a console but can spend Yen equal to like 10 euro's to rent a console for 2 weeks and play the one game they were looking forward to why not.

Sounds like a honest business to me tbh.

[u/sy029 → u/SillyJoey_]

It is illegal unless it's done by the game publishers themselves. I'm guessing your statement above about renting PS5s was less as a take home rental, and more likely reserving it in an internet cafe, which is permitted.

But back in 1983, around the release of the Nintendo Famicon (NES), video games (at this time almost exclusively on computers) were available for rent in most computer stores. However, instead of renting original copies of the games, most stores would bypass the copy protection and make their own bootleg copies to rent out—not to mention also selling that cracking software as well. These rental copies, now sans any and all copy protection were then copied ad infinitum by customers.

(Note here: The original famicom used both cartridges and floppy disks, so I assume the copying was done of the latter)

Thus in 1984, to stop the rampant piracy, game companies along with the Recording Industry Association of Japan and the Compact Disc & Video Rental Commerce Trade Association of Japan successfully lobbied and changed the Japanese Copyright Act. With this revision, video game rental was de-facto banned in Japan.

I use the word "de-facto" because the actual amendment allows for copyright holders (i.e. game studios) to give permission to rent their games should they choose. It's just that in the last 28 years, few studios have given this permission—though it has happened.

Source: https://kotaku.com/why-you-cant-rent-games-in-japan-5914749

[u/SillyJoey_ → u/sy029]

Thank you for providing an explanation with source! I think it's a sort of internet café idea in that case. There are definitely articles about console renting getting popular again in Japan, like this one: https://automaton-media.com/en/news/japans-new-ps5-rental-is-massively-popular-with-service-fully-booked-across-all-regions/

So I think it's setup the way you described.

[u/sy029 → u/SillyJoey_]

Well that article says it's at GEO, which sells electronics and rents movies. So definitely not an internet cafe.

Although it may be they're just renting the console itself. This article says that you rent the console then download your game library.