According to some of Nintendo's research high school and college students temporarily lose interest in the Wii.

When asked to explain why titles such as Monster Hunter 3G would be released in Japan this holiday period but not in foreign markets Nintendo president Satoru Iwata argues that Japanese gamers in high school and college typically lose interest in Nintendo games and Monster Hunter 3G is designed to win them over.

Citing some research Nintendo conducted into the popularity of the Nintendo Wii amongst various age ranges in both America and Japan, which can be seen below, Mr. Iwata notes that in Japan the graph has a "two-humped camel" appearance, with popularity peaking in children, decreasing as they enter the teenage and early adult years and then increasing again as they approach 35. However, in America it is a different story as the popularity peaks amongst children and decreases somewhat but remains fairly stable.

Click to enlarge.

Satoru Iwata also recalls some earlier research, conducted during his second year at Nintendo, which saw adults claiming that Mario is "childish". He says that while Nintendo appreciates that children love Mario they do not want to lose the adult audience and note that by revoking the spirit of earlier Mario games with titles such as New Super Mario Bros. they have been able to reclaim some of this audience.

This led Mr. Iwata to argue that in Japan consumers in their teens or early adult years would be less interested in the two upcoming Mario titles, Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7, and Capcom's Monster Hunter 3G is designed to appeal to them this holiday season. However, in America (and seemingly by extension Europe) gamers of all ages will be happy with the two new Mario titles on offer. Concluding his argument Mr. Iwata added:

"Needless to say, we are making efforts to prepare a wider software lineup, including software with a charm not typically provided by Nintendo, in order to satisfy the needs of many different consumers. Please understand, however, that if anyone has the notion that the absence of Monster Hunter will create a less enthusiastic market condition in the overseas markets than in Japan, it is different from my belief."