It’s sometimes quite funny how one thing leads to another. In our neck of the woods, if we’re told that Windows 10 is finished and we need to switch to another system, no problem. We download an ISO image of Windows 11, make it bootable on a USB key, install it and format the key when finished. In Japan, something completely different is happening: demand for Blu-Ray players is exploding!
When the end of Windows 10 causes Blu-Ray player demand to explode in Japan!
To elaborate a little, Windows 10 support is over, with a few geographical exceptions. In Japan, the end of support has led to a sharp rise in demand for Blu-Ray players, simply because the Japanese want to install Windows 11. As mentioned above, there is the bootable USB key method, but the Japanese seem to be attached to the physical medium, at least more so than at home. So it’s a safe bet that the Japanese will burn the ISO onto a Blu-Ray so that they always have a physical copy of the system with them.
In short, this request may seem surprising, especially as the bulk of demand is for internal players. And even though we live 12,000 km from Japan, PC cases here and there are following the same trend: 5.25″ bays have become very rare. But that doesn’t stop demand being strong. In this case, an external drive would be more practical, but we have to admit that they are often limited by the USB interface they use.
In the meantime, stores in Tokyo’s Akihabara district have been sold out. For the time being, these players are going out faster than they’re coming back in. Clearly a cyclical phenomenon, demand for this type of reader also saw a peak during the forced switchover to Windows 10!
