Atlus Japan has released an online survey, available from March 19 to March 25, which requests the fans’ cooperation with Atlus to let them know what customers want out of them.
The online questionnaire directed towards the Japanese consumers of Atlus games states that its results will help Atlus “deliver a gaming experience that is more unique and attractive in the future.” Additionally, they state that Atlus will continue to aspire towards establishing goodwill with the fans.
The questionnaire duration is estimated at about 20 minutes, and states that the data gathered from the answers is processed statistically, and that personally identifiable information from them will not be released.
The list of questions from the survey are below. For questions that I feel are especially interesting and should be highlighted, scroll to Q15, Q22, Q25 and Q26.
Q1: What is your age?
Q2: What is your gender?
Q3: What is your profession?
Q4: What gaming platforms do you own?
Note: pretty much every relevant platform is listed here except for the Xbox One.
Q5: How often do you play the following types of games?
- Home console games
- Handheld games
- Online PC games
- Smartphone games
- Arcade games
Q6: What do you like the most about playing console games (PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, etc.)?
This consists of choosing multiple answers across a list, which include options like:
- I want to enjoy the story.
- I want to kill time.
- I want to feel accomplished.
- I want to think.
- I want to forget about every day life.
- I want to relieve stress.
- I want to enjoy my time with friends and family.
Q7: What do you like the most about playing handheld games (PlayStation Vita, Nintendo 3DS, etc.)?
The list includes the same options as question 6.
Q8: What do you like the most about playing Online PC games?
The list includes the same options as questions 6 and 7.
Q9: What do you like the most about playing smartphone games?
The list includes the same options as the above questions.
Q10: What do you like the most about playing arcade games (excluding prize games like UFO catchers)?
The list includes the same options as the above questions.
Q11: When are you most likely to play home console games?
The list of answers includes:
- Immediately in the morning.
- During the break times between school or work.
- While watching TV at home.
- While working on a computer.
- While eating a meal.
- When you are relaxing at home.
- In bed, before going to sleep.
Q12: When are you most likely to play handheld games?
Mostly the same list as Q11, however it includes a couple of additional options like:
- On the toilet.
- While taking a bath.
- While walking.
- While taking public transportation.
Q13: When are you most likely to play smartphone games?
The list includes the same options as the one for handheld games above.
Q14: What are your favorite game genres?
The list includes the standard options:
- Racing
- Sport
- Music game
- Simulation
- Fighting game
- Action game
- Adventure game
- Puzzle game
- 3D Dungeon RPG
- Open world RPG
- Action RPG
- Real-time action RPG
- Turn-based “command battle” RPG
- Real-time strategy
- Turn-based strategy RPG
Q15: What are the settings that interest you most in a game?
The list includes the following options:
- Modern Japan (urban)
- Modern Japan (suburbs)
- Modern America
- Modern China
- Modern Europe
- Fantasy (Medieval European)
- Japan period drama
- Future Japan
Q16: For dedicated game machines, choose the games you have bought for yourself among the following:
The list includes a variety of games such as:
- Tales of Zestiria
- Dragon Quest Heroes
- Lightning Returns Final Fantasy XIII
- The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask (3DS)
- Persona Q
- Dragon’s Dogma
- Destiny
- Shin Megami Tensei IV
Q17: Among the games you bought, which ones would you buy a sequel for?
Refer to the following image:
Q19: After seeing the game screenshots above, choose all that apply.
The questions are tailored based on the users’ responses, so a previous question I answered must have somehow skipped Q18.
The list for Q19 includes:
- I want to play it on a handheld game machine.
- I want to be able to play this for a long time.
- I want to play it for free.
- The color in the screenshots are great.
- I want to play it on a home console, on a big TV screen.
- The characters are appealing.
- The story looks interesting.
- The screenshots have a cool design.
- I want to play it as a smartphone game.
Refer to the following image:
Q20: After seeing the game screenshots above, choose all that apply.
The list of possible answers is the same for Q19.
Refer to the following image:
Q21: After seeing the game screenshots above, choose all that apply.
The list of possible answers is the same for Q19 and Q20.
Refer to the following image:
Q22: After seeing the game screenshots above, choose all that apply.
The list of possible answers is the same for the above questions.
Refer to the following image:
Q23: After seeing the game screenshots above, choose all that apply.
The list of possible answers is the same for the above questions.
Q24: For the following smartphone games, choose among the following:
This lists asks whether one has knowledge of or plays some of the following games:
- Tap Three Kingdoms
- Candy Crush
- Schoolgirl Strikers
- Puzzle & Dragons
- Idolmaster Cinderella Girls
- Final Fantasy Record Keeper
It’s a list of 33 relatively known smartphone games.
Q25: Among the following game concepts, which interest you the most?
The list is:
- Games with immersive worlds, virtual reality games
- Smartphone, immersive games
- Smartphone, “anytime, anywhere”, F2P games
- Games that you can enjoy on a big screen TV, immersive home console games
- Games that you can enjoy on a big screen TV when you have the free time
- Dedicated handheld, immersive games
- Dedicated handheld, “anytime, anywhere”, F2P games
Q26: Among the concept of the following games, choose the ones which interest you the most.
The list is:
- Demons, gods, myths and legends
- Selecting a character’s appearance from pre-set illustrations to create a character
- Selecting elements of a character’s appearance for a 3D model to create a character
- Time travel (traveling to the past, back and forth in current time, in the future)
- Battle Royale game (Yes, with brutal/violent scenes)
- I enjoy characters and their relationships
- Realistic, high fidelity graphics
- Anime graphics/aesthetic
- Exploring randomly generated dungeons
- Exploring a dungeon while drawing a map of your own
- Difficult game balance with high levels of tension
- The fight for survival in a collapsed Tokyo, taking place in the near future
- Fighting a myriad of gods and demons that appear in myths and legends
Q27: Select the amount of free time you have, applying to weekdays and weekends.
Q28: What do you typically do on weekdays and weekends to spend your free time?
The list includes answers like:
- Learning a foreign language
- Going to public competitions (horse racing, bicycle racing…)
- I go to get a massage or to a beauty parlor
- Home gardening
- I take pictures
- I watch sports
- I play sports
- I go to karaoke
- I go to live concerts
- I play home console games
- I play handheld games
- I make a meal or have tea with friends
- I watch Youtube
- I watch Nico Nico Douga
- I watch TV at home
Q29: Regarding media use, please tell us how much time you spend on the following per day:
The list asks one to manually type the number for the amount of time people spend on:
- TV viewing
- Internet use on a personal computer
- Internet use on tablet devices
- Internet use on smartphones
Q30: Which social media do you use?
The list is:
- Google+
- Personal blog
- LINE
- Bulletin boards (2channel, etc.)
- Mail order site (Amazon.jp, etc.), reviews site (COOKPAD, etc.)
Q31: What do you usually write about on social network services?
The list includes the following:
- Family
- Food
- Interesting stories
- Dedicated game machine games you are currently playing
- Music
- Movies
- Fashion
- Business
Q32: How much spending money do you usually have freely available on a monthly basis?
The list goes from “Less than 5,000 yen” to “50,000 yen or more.”
Q33: What will influence you the most to purchase a game title for dedicated game machines?
The list includes:
- Seeing what friends, colleagues and family are playing
- Looking at television commercials
- LINE, Facebook, Twitter
- I want to play the games that are popular
- What is featured in game magazines and books
Q34: When purchasing a title for a dedicated game machine, please choose everything that influences that purchasing decision.
The list includes the following:
- It is a Wii U game
- It is a Nintendo 3DS game
- It is a PlayStation Vita game
- It is a PlayStation 3 game
- It is a PlayStation 4 game
- Music
- Voice actors
- Favorite series
- Genre
- Developer
- Game’s official website
- Demo
Q35: What will influence you when choosing to download a game app for smartphones?
The list includes the following:
- Recommended by the mobile phone company
- Featured in game magazines or books about smartphones
- I want to play the games that are popular
- In response to a LINE or Facebook invitation
- Commercials
- Seeing what friends, colleagues and family are playing
Q36: If you are playing games on smartphones, are there any you have actually paid for in the last three months?
The list is:
- More than once
- Only once
- I have paid for smartphone games before, but not in the last three months
- Never
Q39: What is the reason you have not paid for a smartphone game in the past three months?
Again, since the questions are based off of the user’s responses, Q37 and Q38 seemed to have been skipped. I chose answer 4 for Q36, so they most likely involved the other choices.
The list includes:
- The method to pay is troublesome
- It’s only satisfactory to play for free
- I feel like I’m being cheated when I’m charged
- I think it’s a waste of money
Q41: About the game companies below, choose what best applies for each of them:
For each of the 20 listed companies, there are 5 choices:
- I do not know this company.
- I’m not sure what games this company makes.
- I know about this game company, but they do not quite interest me.
- This company makes games that I enjoy.
The list of companies includes:
- Nippon Ichi Software
- SEGA
- Square Enix
- Marvelous
- Capcom
- GungHo Online Entertainment
- Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
- Spike Chunsoft
- Atlus
- Level-5
Q42: What do you use for transportation on a daily basis?
The list is:
- Train, subway, monorail
- Bus
- Taxi
- Car (driving)
- Car (as passenger)
- Moped
- Bicycle
— Atlus Survey, p-ch