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Microsoft Details New Xbox 360 Push in Japan
With Xbox 360 having recently passed one million sales in Japan, Microsoft has announced plans to further push the console by confirming the release of a slew of titles in the country.
Among other Xbox 360 games lined up for release in Japan this year, Xbox Japan boss Takashi Sensui confirmed the launches of Namco Bandai’s Magna Carta 2 and Tekken 6, Samurai Spirits Shin, plus a host of Xbox Live Arcade games due this summer, reports Destructoid.
High-profile western titles including Gears of War 2, Halo: ODST, H.A.W.X. and Elder Scrolls: Shivering Isles were also confirmed for release in Japan, while new trailers were shown for Lost Planet 2, Dead Rising 2 and Bayonetta.
Microsoft also announced a "Thank You" campaign that will see it give away one million MS Points for purchasing content via Xbox Live, in addition to a free dashboard theme.
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M$ has a bottomless warchest to the extent they think they'll eventually be able to wear out the Japanese consumer. war of attrition, basically.
it hasn't worked with the Xbox and certainly isn't going to change with the 360. a million units sold after nearly four years on the market isn't cause for celebration, that's a case sudy in abject failure.
unless Sony call's it quits, things aren't going to change. the Japanese consumer is just not interested. period.
and the very notion of a "Thank You" campaign is insulting because it most certainly isn't for the benefit of Japanese 360 owners.
"unless Sony call's it quits, things aren't going to change. the Japanese consumer is just not interested. period. "
I'd say you are wrong on that. The impressive sales spikes they have had on the release of high profile JRPGs indicates that there is an interested market there. There was certainly resistance in Japan to the 'outsider' but I think that has reduced in the last couple of years and the market is much more open to them. The problem Microsoft have had is building a software line up that actually appeals to the Japanese. It is obvious that the traditional western style games that Microsoft has built on do not appeal to the Japanese audience and the release of 3 or 4 JRPGs in a year is not enough to build momentum.
I think Microsoft have learned a lot in Japan, and with continued deals with Square, Capcom, Namco, etc they are bound to be much more successful in the next generation - however they need to continue support in this generation in order to build a positive image of the Microsoft brand before the next gen starts. It is an uphill struggle for them, but I can see them making steps in the right direction.
Mate, Microsoft have come though with a string of JRPGs that everyone knows the Japanese love. Yes there were some sales spikes but nothing lasting. Now they want to announce a few MULTIPLATFORM releases and hope that that will change things. That is pitiful. If all the exclusive JRPGs that Squaresoft, Namco et al could gift them made no difference do they think this will do anything. Short of getting Monster Hunter, Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy (what happened there?) exclusively I don't see anything changing. Maybe the Japanese (who have a strong culture of consumer electronics) just don't want to buy a notoriously buggy, poorly tested, unreliable, noisy, RROD-prone console. Anyone ever thought of that? And damn right they are too!
i see what you're saying but you're not giving me anything substantial.
we can talk about "sales spikes" but that's hardly impressive when you factor in just how low the average numbers are. it's incredibly easy to see the occasional spike when the numbers have nowhere to go but up.
and im afraid you contradict yourself when you specifically mention M$ not doing enough in the software category yet still say how they've "learned a lot in Japan".
well, if making more japanese-centric games was the only problem (which it isn't), then no they haven't learned enough since that was the first xbox's most widely criticized flaw. everyone already knew that going into this current generation yet here we are.
and while it can be suggested that the 360 simply needs more quality japanese-centric games, how can you go about validating that now when after almost four years on the market the 360, despite it's vastly increased effort in targeting the japanese market, is actually selling worse than it's predecessor? ...anyone? it's clearly more than just the software.
between Nintendo and Sony, i don't see the xbox having any kind of financial success in Japan. there doesn't seem to be enough room for all three. [that's an interesting topic to post, EDGE] however, if Sony, for whatever reason, were to throw in the towel...
I agree with much of what you're saying, Steviepunk, but the flaw in the argument is that 360 has more J-RPG's than either Wii or 360 in Japan and still lags far behind them in sales.
The difference of the idea of the game is in each country. Think about the difference of the idea of sports of each country as the easiest difference.
Moreover, in Japan, a shooter game (game for assembling a soldier) is not liked.
As for the biggest ditch, the reason can be understood if "JP ANIMATION" and "MANGA" are understood at the end. The idea of the picture, the character design, and the story is different.
It is a meaningless thing even if there are a lot of hit games not suitable for the idea.
It will be said "No, thank you".
I read this 3 times and I still have no idea what you're on about.
The difference of the favor of the game is in each country. Think about the difference of the favor of sports of each country.
Moreover, the Japanese doesn't like shooter game (game to gather the soldier).
If "JP ANIMATION" and "MANGA" are understood, the biggest ditch might be understood.
Japanese's favor of the picture, the character design, and the story is different.
It is meaningless even if there are a lot of hit games not suitable for the favor of the Japanese.
It will be said "No, thank you".
What are you going on about? What you say makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.
or
何が起こっているか？絶対にないものは何だと感じている。
or
What has happened? Is absolutely not feel anything.
BBC's points seem to be that different countries prefer different games just like in sports (football being big in Europe whereas baseball is big in the States, for example).
The Japanese don't like military-themed shooters (I assume that includes Sci-Fi shooters like Halo and Gears). If you have an understanding of Anime and Manga, you might understand the biggest differences (between Western and Japanese tastes/interests?)
The Japanese preferences for graphics/art-style, character design(I remember seeing an article on Faith from Mirror's Edge and how see would be redesigned for "Japanese tastes" which was quite interesting) and story are different.
It's meaningless to have a lot of hit games (for the 360) if they are not to Japanese tastes. They will say (to the 360), "No, thank you."
OK my view: Microsoft have been throwing a number of exclusive games that appeal to the Japanese market together with some multi-platform fare developed on these shores (I live in Japan) so I don't buy that there is a complete lack of titles. I think the issue of Microsoft's struggle in Japan is more complex and involves consumer loyalty to established (Japanese) brands, a perceived lack of quality of the hardware, the 360's core demographic (not families or kids) and just a difference in gaming culture.
Thank you for sparing time to arrange my machine translation.
He's not making much sense about the subject at all and it sounds like he's used a translation tool on the internet.
The above in Japanese, courtesy of Google translate, is:
彼は彼には、インターネット上の翻訳ツールを使用のすべての問題について、多くの意味を理解して音ではない。
Which when you translate back in to English using Google translate you get:
He has his issues all the translation tools on the Internet, with sound understanding and a lot of sense.
See instant Engrish!
I understand why MS keeps trying in Japan (to ensure developer support and keep Sony distracted on their home turf) but it really is a losing battle in terms of market share in Japan.
If you just changed the names on the Wii/PS3 to "Microsoft", the Japanese market still would have refused to buy it simply because it is an American company. While the Japanese love many aspects of American culture (music, movies, clothes, etc.), they have drawn the line when it comes to gaming and are very protective of that market.
It's funny how americans equate the lows sales of XBOX360's in Japan to national pride. I live in north america, and I had an XBOX, I would have bought an XBOX360, but they are not reliable. Even the new Jasper models, which were supposed to fix the problem of the RROD still fail (i.e. the E74 error). I think it's actually the reverse. It's americans who choose to buy defective consoles due to national pride. Look at the way the States has screwed up the global economy, if instead of buying crap you used your heads we wouldn't be in this predicament.
that was a little harsh for a simple gaming discussion. I'm an american and I own all 3 consoles. While I'm not pleased with Microsofts numerous quality issues, it was far from "National pride" that I bought their product. They simply had many games that I like.
I try not to lump any culture into generaliztions about their buying habits.
Maybe the Japanese prefer to buy reliable consoles? They have no problem buying iPods for example.
The original x-box was perfectly reliable and they rejected that even more than the 360. There have always been a plethora of excuses (the size of the original x-box was cited as the primary reason they wouldn't buy that system but then how do you explain PS3 this gen?), but that's all they are - excuses.
The 360 isn't the only American made game console the Japanese have ignored and the quality issues didn't come up for a while (during which it sold at even lower levels than it is now that the quality issues have been exposed), so you're tireless obsession with bringing up 360's quality doesn't work here.
Don't get snippy dear, I haven't posted poo through your letter box.....yet.
I think that the hope is that just as the 360 has done better than the original xbox, the next one can do a little better and they can slowly but surely get their foot in the door. Japan are waking up to the fact that western games are good these days (better than Japans own in most cases) so maybe MS will eventually be able to fight there or at least gain a foot hold.