#japan One of the more noticeable differences between the East and the West is the prevalence of the handheld console. The popularity of handhelds in Japan is fairly understandable. For one thing, the high population density makes open space one of the island country's most precious commodities. Also, the widespread use of public mass transit leads to people having to spend lots of time among strangers in crowded train cars. All this leads to more opportunities to play handheld games in general. That, added with the introverted nature of most Japanese, makes it hardly surprising to me that Japan sells 20 percent more handheld consoles than the US with less than half the population. More »