The AFP press service reports today news about the high level of intelligence, wit and good sense shown by a sample of Japanese gamers:

"A poll of 3,422 gamers by product pricing site kakaku.com found that 49.2% said their top concern for picking a console was 'because it's compatible with the games they absolutely want to play'".

Then it all goes a little bit, well, clichéd really, with 43% telling the survey that "they wanted to buy the console that's most talked about".

As we are all aware living in the United Kingdom - where you actually have to pay for any oxygen breathed in the commercial premises of some major corporations^± - gaming devices are less expensive in Japan than here. This maybe why 6.1% of respondents said that price was not a concern.

So, who owns what:

25% said that they had a Wii.

25% said that they had a DS.

10% had a PlayStation 3.

10% had a PSP.

3% had an XBox 360.

Asked which console they hoped to buy next, 28% chose the Wii and 27% picked the PlayStation 3.

The report from Dow Jones Newswires also delves into what it calls actual sales figures for Japan.

Nintendo has sold some 3.63 million Wii units last year in Japan.

Sony sold 1.21 million PlayStation 3s.

Microsoft sold 260,000 XBox 360s units since its launch at the end of 2005.

So, the game is the important thing... but so is 'the most talked about' console. Damn it, we're confused again. Before we leave - the Wii is also seen as the 'coolest' console in Japan according to the survey.

^{± Please increase your irony protection by factor 15
Source: CNN Money}