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XBox (Games) Entertainment Games

Western Xbox Titles To Flood Japan? 56

Posted by simoniker from the overwhelm-them-with-numbers dept.
Thanks to GamePro for posting an article discussing the fact that Microsoft may try to keep the Xbox alive in Japan by flooding the market in less territory-suitable, but already in-development Western titles such as Conker, Voodoo Vince, and Counter-Strike. According to the article, a Japanese retail chain "..claims that Microsoft is planning to release overseas titles in Japan without bothering to localize them for the local market - in other words, they'll release the original English version with a Japanese manual attached." The article suggests this is a sign that Microsoft may forget about the mass-market in Japan, and will be "..dropping its large-scale strategy [until Xbox 2], and concentrating on the 400,000 or so hardcore fans it's managed to scrape together over the past 16 months."
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Western Xbox Titles To Flood Japan? More

Western Xbox Titles To Flood Japan?

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  • Japanese Market (Score:5, Insightful)

    by jnguy ( 683993 ) on Friday June 27, 2003 @06:24AM (#6309713) Homepage
    Microsoft is constantly making the same mistake. Because they are an american company, they can't seem to see the demands and needs of the casual japanese gamer. They made the mistake of going into Japan with out many Japanese games, hoping that localized Western games would be enough to drive the market. Another problem with Microsoft and the Japanese is Microsoft doesn't seem to understand the Japanese customs and culture. I heard from a business teacher that Microsoft would attempt to get deals and contracts signed on the spot, whereas the Japanese are used to going to lunch/dinner or something of that nature. With the failure of Xbox in Japan, I have my doubts that the next one will suceed

    • They made the mistake of going into Japan with out many Japanese games, hoping that localized Western games would be enough to drive the market.

      It wouldn't be the first time an American company made that mistake. I remember watching an old 60 Minutes interview in which former Chrysler boss Lee Iacocca was complaining about how their cars were not selling in Japan. Aside from the fact that Chrysler continues to be at the bottom of the list in terms of quality, Iacocca explained that they didn't bother t

      • Japan uses NTSC. Microsoft isn't completely clueless...

        Okay. Maybe a little clueless. I have to question the sanity of any company that thinks that it's a good idea to take games that I wouldn't get in my native language and try to sell them to someone who isn't as familiar with the language.

        Especially Conker. Conker is an okay game, but the reason why most people I know who played it decided to play it was because of the flavor and humor (not my style of humor, but hey). If the language barrier inte

        • Re:Japanese Market (Score:5, Informative)

          by Kamel Jockey ( 409856 ) on Friday June 27, 2003 @10:52AM (#6311786) Homepage

          If the language barrier interfere's with that, why are they bothering to even release it?

          Going back to my example with Chrysler, Lee Iacocca said that there was no economic incentive to localize their products to Japan because they weren't selling enough vehicles, even though the reason they weren't selling enough vehicles was because they were not localized. Essentially, it looks as if Microsoft is "selling more of the wrong thing" (Iacocca's words) before they have an incentive "to start selling the right thing."

          But then again, do a lot of Japanese people understand English? My guess once again is that they don't, and as a result they won't care for games that are English-only just as most Americans wouldn't buy Japanese products that weren't localized for this country. Japanese industries (cars being the most obvious example) swept the markets here because they sold the customers what they wanted. They knew they weren't going to make it in the USA if they did otherwise. I don't understand why Microsoft is taking the opposite approach in Japan and expecting it to work. Maybe they just are not used to playing in a competitive market.

          • Re:Japanese Market (Score:2, Insightful)

            by amuro98 ( 461673 )
            RE: How well do the Japanese understand English?

            This depends on which market segment you're talking about.

            Those involved with more technical fields, especially computers, will be a bit better dealing with English since most documentation and articles are written in English.

            End users (consumers) are another matter. They have no faith in their English ability, and will insist on the product being fully localized.

            Casual gamers in Japan might not take too kindly to non-localized games - even if the manual
      • I'm not sure what kind of TV system they use in Japan... I doubt its NTSC... or if its not, are NTSC TVs easy to get there?

        All TV's in Japan are NTSC (OR HD :) )

        Also, China (and Taiwan?) were PAL, but due to VCD's, almost 100% of their newer TV's are DUAL Mode PAL/NTSC. Most even auto-detect what kind of signal is being input. Broadcasts are still PAL, but their VCD players (and now DVD) and camcorders are mostly or all NTSC. Consumers in mainland China don't have VCR's, BTW.

      • I remember that...

        From what I recall, though, Iacocca went to Japan and came back rather frustrated because it became obvious to him that his company hadn't even done its research about what the Japanese car market was like.

        He went with Bush Sr. on that ill-fated trip to Japan, and remarked 'No wonder we can't sell our cars here - they're too big to fit on the roads here!"

        Of course, that was about 10 years ago. I can tell you that Japan has gotten a LOT pickier about having products localized for their
    • They made the mistake of going into Japan with out many Japanese games, hoping that localized Western games would be enough to drive the market.

      I agree. The Japanese gaming populace should open their minds to new and different game types. But until that happens, you've got to feed them the same stuff they've always been fed.

  • Sigh.... (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    It must be nice to be a billionaire. I mean really, Microsoft will make sure it's gonna make money, and they're sure spending it to do so, buying every good title onto the Xbox.

    And in the meanwhile I continue to struggle...

    Must...resist...urge....to...buy...Xbox...

  • Right back at you, Cats! (Score:4, Funny)

    by AtariAmarok ( 451306 ) on Friday June 27, 2003 @06:53AM (#6309792)
    At least they could make a minimal effort at translation, so the American video game sentences turn into Japanese sentences which are as clunky as as "Take off every ZIG" and "all your base are belong to us".
    • They probably shouldn't have to. I'd imagine a good portion of Japanese can read English (or that's what it'd seem at least). Logos always seem to be in English and most games from Japan have English in them. The majority of imports I've gotten have had English portions or at least provided support for English.

      I rarely worry about importing anymore. For the Biohazard remake (Resident Evil here), all of the voices in the game were done in English. For a game being released in Japan by a Japanese compan
      • Stuff written in english is popular there in the same way that stuff written in japanese and chinese is popular here. There are far more people who think it just looks cool and buy it than there are people who can actually read it. This is why you can frequently find people in japan wandering around with really obscene things written on their clothing. Likewise, i've heard stories about native language t-shirts sold to american tourists in numerous countries.

        Although the level of understanding the Japanes

  • How is Xbox faring in Europe? If it's sinking there, too, then it looks like Microsoft will have to settle for second place in North America.
    • in the uk gamecube and x box are considerably lagging behind the ps2. Gamecube seems to have caught something of a second wind since many retailers cut 1/3 off the price of a the console. xbox - IMO seems to be a poor 3rd place.
    • If it's sinking there, too, then it looks like Microsoft will have to settle for second place in North America.

      I would bet that Microsoft, culturally, goes against the grain of most countries in the world. Their super-aggressive business tactics are largely a U.S. tradition that, I suspect, would unsettle many foriegn businesspeople and government officials. Suprisingly, Microsoft has managed to get whole countries addicted to its PC software, but it seems some countries are looking to go into rehab ful
  • That's what the XBOX is missing in japan.
    Western games (especially fps like CS or Quake III) are not very popular in japan

    Do something that is CUTE and it will sell.

    OK, I don't like M$ - so I better shut up before they do what I say.
  • I didn't know Conker had a new title out (I don't follow new game releases any more). That was my favorite game for the N64. I may just go pick up an X-Box, cuz that game was hilarious.
    • Yeah, its in development. Who knows when it will come out. Rare likes to delay titles almost as much as Nintendo.
    • The new Conker for XBox is the N64 game with upgraded graphics, and a few things that were cut because of time constraints. The Deathmatch modes will also be playable on XBox Live.

      Don't expect much more from the single player. Shortly after Conker came out, the guy who did the voices in the game spent a few weeks answers questions on a Rare fan site. He gave the impression that there wasn't much they didn't get to do. The main thing he said they were originally planning on doing but didn't was to place lot

    • Conker Xbox, by the way, "Live and Uncut" is a remake of the N64 with new stuff thrown in, then an Xbox Live version of the multiplayer stuff.

  • The USA and Europe have many many places where you can import Japanese games, because that's where many of the best games are made. But I've spent a lot of time in Japan, and I've never seen a place that sold games imported from the west.

    If there's no demand, they'll only sell to a minority of hardcore gamers.

    This whole think smacks of desperation.

  • MS Leaving Japan... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by gamgee5273 ( 410326 ) on Friday June 27, 2003 @10:25AM (#6311525) Journal
    I knew this sort of thing was going to happen. When the WonderSwan outsells the Xbox, you seriously have to wonder if the Japanese are even interested in MS's product...which they obviously aren't. And, personally, I find the Xbox to be a major yawn-fest, wth Halo being the only exclusive worthwhile on there (and, even then, I've fooled with Halo on a friend's Xbox and wasn't that impressed).

    Xbox is dying its deserved death. I, for one, know there is no way I'm buying one unless Shenmue III is an Xbox exclusive. Even then, I may just borrow a friend's Xbox to play it...

    My prediction: there may be an Xbox 2, but there will not be an Xbox 3.

  • One of the biggest complaints I hear from US gamers is how various Japanese titles are never released in the US.
    I personally think this was a factor in the downfall of the Dreamcast and Saturn, as there were games that many folks wanted, but Sega refused to bring over.

    So this move by Microsoft, assuming they don't just cram a Japanese manual in with the English version of the game, could be a good thing for the Japanese market - assuming any of the games heading there are of any interest to the market.

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