A survey of personal computer software in Japan

This paper presents a survey of personal computer software in Japan, conducted by JEIDA (Japan Electronic Industry Development Association) for the period 1982-1984. The paper begins with a description of software houses in Japan, including information on their capital, employees, and sales. Next, the paper covers the types of software packages available, including the distribution device for each software category; distribution channel; quality of the package and manuals (copy protection, status of manuals, support period); inclusion of user cards; and user types. The paper then describes the range of software packages supplied by hardware manufacturers. Finally, package label information and the importance of standardization are discussed.