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XBox (Games)

Slow Start For the 360 in Japan 74

Posted by Zonk from the can-we-have-some? dept.
psycln writes "Microsoft may have to try a little harder in marketing the Xbox 360 to Japanese consumers if initial reports coming out of the country Saturday are correct. Several news reports indicate a slow reaction to the new console from Japanese customers. Apparently next day delivery is still an option to the Japanese consumer!" From the BBC article: "One senior store official said the customer reaction had been somewhat "subdued", with fewer than 50 consoles sold in the first two hours. However, Mr Moore said that several hundred units appeared to have been sold at the store he was at within the first three hours. Takeshi Tajima, a BNP Paribas analyst, told Reuters news agency that serious game fans would rush to buy the new console but 'most people are going to wait and see'. "
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Slow Start For the 360 in Japan More

Slow Start For the 360 in Japan

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  • Want to know why? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 12, 2005 @05:54PM (#14241908)
    Here's the reason:

    The Xbox 360's launch in Japan, in an attempt to buck this trend, features six titles (Perfect Dark Zero, Ridge Racer 6, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, Every Party, FIFA 06: Road to FIFA World Cup and Tetris: The Grandmaster Ace), including three Japanese-created titles, but key Japanese launch game Dead or Alive 4 is now not due until at least the end of the month.


    There are no killer titles for this console yet. And not many third-party developers want to develop a game for a sparsely available platform when they can develop for three well-established platforms that have 140 million units combined.

    Maybe Microsoft was a bit too eager to get out of the gates.

    • Re:Want to know why? (Score:4, Interesting)

      by non0score ( 890022 ) on Monday December 12, 2005 @06:02PM (#14241978)
      I think another key factor to consider is how many more 360s are sold compared to the original XBox. This number will tell us how much inroads Microsoft has made into the Japanese market. It seems like the 360 is doing a whole lot better.

      However, one may argue that with an early-adopter culture as that of Japanese, if the 360 doesn't get "adopted" early, this may show that the Japanese people don't care much for the 360.

      As for the OP's arguments about the lack of killer games for the 360...well, there isn't a killer game here in NA either, but it's still selling like hotcakes. But then again, the Japanese taste for games doesn't just include sports and FPS rehash titles.
      • I think another key factor to consider is how many more 360s are sold compared to the original XBox. This number will tell us how much inroads Microsoft has made into the Japanese market. It seems like the 360 is doing a whole lot better.

        Not to me it doesn't.

        The original Xbox sold 180,000 units in its first month on the market in Japan. That's the early adopter crowd, the same people who are buying the 360. I would be surprised if the 360 even sold that much; there seemed to be more reports of the origina
        • For the record, the 360 is selling significantly worse than the original did in the beginning - and that is despite a 25% cut in price compared to the US (you can probably order it cheaper from Japan than buying it in a local US store, even with the freight added). From the local media, the current buyers are just about exclusively those who will buy every new gaming platform and piece of gear, just to have everything.

        • There's new sales data for 3 days of launch comparison from Famitsu.

          360 sold: 62,135
          360 retail stock: 159,000
          Games sold per unit: 0.91

          Compare to original X-box launch for the same 3 day period.
          xbox sold: 123,929
          Games sold per unit: 1.45

          Looks to be doing about 1/2 of the original X-box launch numbers. Also, recent sales of Xbox unit hasn't been anywhere near 3,000/months. They've consistently been selling at well under 200/week. For November, it was about 580/month, for October it was about 460/m

    • absolutely right. no games FOR Japanese gamers = no console sales TO Japanese gamers. but WHY aren't there any killer titles for 360 by Capcom, Namco, Square Enix, etc.? because MS has not cultivated relationships with those publishers the way Sony has. now, I'm no expert on Japanese business culture, and maybe it's not even possible for M$ to do so, but trash-talking Sony [ign.com], flashing a ton of American money and bravado around -- maybe that's NOT what the Japanese respond to. just a hunch.
      • very insightful post.

        i think during their first go at the console race, MS felt that they would rather try to cultivate smaller studios into the next capcom, namco, or square enix. seems like MS doesnt want to spend the money to steal studios from sony; they would rather make deals with small and mid-range studios that have more incentive to give in MS tactics. the prob with MS's stance is that they dont get very many exclusive titles from any studio.
    • Maybe Microsoft was a bit too eager to get out of the gates.

      Nice Freudian slip... ;>)

      Cheers,

  • Perhaps it's partially... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by TriezGamer ( 861238 ) on Monday December 12, 2005 @05:55PM (#14241918)
    Perhaps it's partially a matter of not buying into senseless hype? I'd like to think that at least somewhere on Earth people have the intelligence to see the difference between graphics and gameplay. Not to mention the cost of the console... In any case, some Japanese development firms are working on X360 software, and will probably push sales more than the current games available, both in Japan and the USA

  • Great Stocking Decisions, Guys (Score:5, Interesting)

    by MBCook ( 132727 ) <foobarsoft@foobarsoft.com> on Monday December 12, 2005 @06:04PM (#14241992) Homepage
    This is something I think I commented on the other day.

    In the US, the system is POPULAR and we got 400k units, which was not nearly enough to meet demand.

    In Japan, where the system is UNPOPULAR they got ?k units, which was way more than enough to meet demand.

    Why not send fewer units to Japan so you can SEND THEM WHERE PEOPLE ARE WAITING IN LINE TO BUY THEM? I saw pictures somewhere (Kotaku?) that was like the PSP launch in the US. They had pictures of stores with piles of the systems that no one was buying.

    If they wanted to run a "It's sold out so it must be great" campaign here in the US, why not run it in Japan and send those extra units here? They would still sell out here, but they would also get in the hands of more consumers. And in both countries you would be able to play the "scarcity" card about how popular it is.

    Instead, we didn't get enough (where we want it), they got too many (where they don't want it), MS could have made more $$$, and US consumers are upset (like someone posted the other day, they heard a kid say they'd just buy a PS3 if they wouldn't be able to get a 360 until Feb.).

    I don't understand this launch. So many things seem... off. I think they would have done a MUTCH better job if they had just waiting until after Christmas like they almost did.

    • Re:Great Stocking Decisions, Guys (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Is0m0rph ( 819726 ) on Monday December 12, 2005 @06:11PM (#14242032)
      I agree. I was at Target today playing the 360's Call of Duty. Pretty cool actually, great graphics (though my PC can look just as nice). No way to buy a 360 though so they are losing my money. Walked into EB after that, bought a used Gamecube for my son for Xmas for $59.99. Since all those games and accessories can be used on the Revolution that will now be the console I buy.

      • Re:Great Stocking Decisions, Guys (Score:4, Insightful)

        by smaffei ( 565629 ) on Monday December 12, 2005 @09:17PM (#14243319)
        I don't know why the Targets, Best Buys, and Wal-Marts of America aren't screaming bloody murder about the 360 shortages. When I ask about availabilty, all I get is tacit apathy. Sort of in the "oh well" vain.

        All those 360 games and accessories collecting dust on the shelves will be a hard sell after the holidays (when money will be tight). People like you (potential customers) are forced to look at alternatives for X-Mas. Once that crusical system decision is made, many consumers stick with it for the long haul.

        Microsoft has squandered the chance of doing something really great.
        • "All those 360 games and accessories collecting dust on the shelves will be a hard sell after the holidays (when money will be tight)"

          Especially when home heating bills are rolling in, this year the average homeowner will be laying out hundreds more than they did last year... and that crunch will be felt in retail from January through March.

          On the plus side, retailers will be having even more massive sales this February than usual... so those of us who are prepared to wait on major purchases look to sa

    • Re:Great Stocking Decisions, Guys (Score:5, Insightful)

      by RoadDoggFL ( 876257 ) on Monday December 12, 2005 @06:57PM (#14242364) Homepage
      I think the idea is that MS knows it can compete in the US and Europe. So they know that can play the scarcity card here (and there...), but in Japan they know that any shortage would be seen as dropping the ball, since previous console shortages have been caused by Japanese companies ensuring demand in Japan is met, it's uncommon for consoles to have stocking problems like we're used to (that's an assumption though, I'm just saying that shortages for consoles are worse in the US because Japan is taken care of first and foremost). So a shortage in Japan would make them look just as foolish, and MS really wants everybody that wants a 360 in Japan to get a 360.

      Was it the best choice? Probably not, but it still makes sense.

    • Re:Great Stocking Decisions, Guys (Score:4, Insightful)

      by rtechie ( 244489 ) on Monday December 12, 2005 @08:06PM (#14242887)
      Why not send fewer units to Japan so you can SEND THEM WHERE PEOPLE ARE WAITING IN LINE TO BUY THEM? I saw pictures somewhere (Kotaku?) that was like the PSP launch in the US. They had pictures of stores with piles of the systems that no one was buying.

      Just so you know, the Japanese version of the 360 is almost certainly different enough from the American version that they can't just drop unsold units into American stores. The OS would probably be in Japanese, and at the very least they would have to change the packaging. Microsoft was clearly trying to improve the sales of the Xbox/360 in Japan, and they failed spectacularly (as predicted). MS just doesn't seem to be able to make major inroads in Japan (not suprising for an American company).

      You should also consider the costs of shipping the units from Japan to the USA. No, any unsold 360s are likey to stay there. The bright side is that it's likely that MS has already adjusted production and we'll see most units purposed to the USA (and eventually Europe) in the future.

      • I agree, it's too late now. But Japan uses NTSC like us, so the hardware is easier shared (European consoles that output PAL wouldn't work here). But my point is that probably ALL the consoles were made in Asia. They should have planned to ship more here in the first pace.

        It is too late. They would never make up their money (ignoring the fact they already sell at a loss) by re-imaging all those 360s and packaging them in new boxes and then shipping them to the US.

        But they wouldn't have had that problem if

      • The os is multilingual. I have mine set to english. No problem at all.
        The only diference seems to be the region lock. That's about it.

    • PROOF (Score:5, Interesting)

      by MBCook ( 132727 ) <foobarsoft@foobarsoft.com> on Monday December 12, 2005 @09:16PM (#14243315) Homepage
      HA. I found PROOF!

      Check out this link [kotaku.com] to Kotaku [kotaku.com]. It has a picture and text saying that the launch is going so bad in Japan that since the retailers are unable to sell the consoles (which cost $350 in USD) back to MS, they are having a fire-sale within a day or two of launch selling the systems for about $150 USD, less than HALF the retail price.

      Compare that to here in the US where people are pay upwards of $800 in scam auctions on eBay for a picture of the 360, or a link to where to buy one, or an empty box.

      I'm sorry, but from my point of view this launch continues to look botched.

      • Erm, you seem to be having an orgasm over that little article.
      • Don't jizz all over your monitor man. I actually RyourFL. That price is with an internet subscription, just like years ago when you got $400 off a computer for signing up with MSN for a three year contract. And these offers started on the release day, too.
      • The price is slashed to $150 *if you sign up for a year of Internet service* (several hundred dollars, depending on the specifics, roughly half of which will accrue to the store as a finder's fee). Popular electronics get released with this gambit here all the time -- cell phones are the most obvious example (do you think I paid anything for my last two camera phones?) and NTT (Japan's answer to Ma Bell, hurting to expand customer base as of late) was giving out *free iPod minis* to get people to sign up f
    • Probably because they value a japanese costumer more then an american one, since japan isn't a large market for the xbox and if it's going to be they need to get more consoles out. People in usa will buy it anyway.
    • No region coding. If they had no region coding (just different PSUs for different region power, and a standardized HD connector), you could ship the same box anywhere it had i18n and l10n text for (which is pretty much anywhere; I had my Canadian Xbox in Japanese for a good year).

      When you create artificial barriers like region coding, you open the door to problems like this. If MS has these problems, they may think about the next console launch they do and if it will involve region locked consoles.
  • Stupid Americans (yes, I am an american).

  • The next obvious question: (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    What is the price of shipping from Japan?

  • Hype (Score:1)

    by Unsus ( 901072 )
    I heard Microsoft was doing a lot to insure that the XBox 360 would be popular in Japan, but it seems like it wasn't enough. Maybe they should have hired a Japanese marketing company instead of leaving it to the Americans.
    • You heard wrong. They almost nothing outside of the trendy parts of Tokyo. I'm outside the second largest city in the country, Osaka, and there's next to nothing for the Xbox.
  • Don't they realize how much they could get by reselling them back to Americans?

  • The answer is obvious... (Score:3, Funny)

    by MagicDude ( 727944 ) on Monday December 12, 2005 @08:06PM (#14242882)
    It's pretty obvious why the 360 isn't selling well in Japan. Microsoft just kind of half ass [ytmnd.com] their advertising over there.
  • Already doing better than the original Xbox...

    Seriously, though, I just read on Kotaku that some places are already starting to heavily discount the machine, with one place selling them for $150 and an ISP contract. [kotaku.com]

  • I think the xbox 360 is region coded, so all those xbox 360 systems that are sitting on a shelf in japan are useless to gamers in USA, unless you like to import every single game you buy. Some games I guess work accross region codes but I would not bet the barn (or $400 bucks) on it.

    ______________________
    360 Games Go Region Free ?
    Computer and Videogames report although we haven't been able to get hold of any US games ourselves, word from Japan says that a handful of American Xbox 360 titles do not

  • They should have changed the name (Score:5, Funny)

    by Kuukai ( 865890 ) on Monday December 12, 2005 @09:14PM (#14243305) Journal
    In Japan, O is synonymous with "correct", and X is synonymous with "wrong" (they flipped the PS controls in America, in Japanese games "O" is almost always accept, and "X" is cancel). Instead of just meaning "beyond" or whatever it means here, X has the added connotation of failure. So "Xbox" can be translated as "failure box". One poster on /.J pointed out that if you "translate" "Xbox360", you get "failure box", with a hastily appended circle to make it succeed.
    • Someone modded the parent "funny" but it's actually perfectly serious.

      In a Japanese game show (or similar question/answer situation), if the questioner gives you an "X" for your reply (generally accompanied by a negative sounding "bzzt"), that means you got the answer wrong. While "O" means you got it right (generally accompanied by a happy sounding "ding dong").

      This shows up in manga and anime as well.

      That being said, the Xbox 360 is going to suffer in Japan from a lack of compelling games, much more so th
      • It's not just anime and manga, though most Slashdot Japan experts seem to only know it from that.

        I can't tell you the number of school papers I've gotten back with nice, big batsu (Xs) on them. The pain, the pain of school!

        True/false questions on my exams are X for false, O for true.
    • Original thread [slashdot.jp]

      I rather like how someone translated "xbox" as the kanji (kyou), which is basically an "X" in a box, meaning bad luck, as traditionally used in omikuji (slips of paper for fortune telling), and then "xbox 360" as bad luck coming around again. That was much slicker than the obvious "batsu-bako" (literally "penalty box").

      All they need now is to work a triangle in there and they've caught up with the PS2 controller! (and no bonus for the guy who tried to use convoluted numerology with roman n

  • Comment removed (Score:5, Interesting)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Monday December 12, 2005 @09:57PM (#14243534)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • ...and when the PS3 becomes available - and if it runs Linux, MS is in deep trouble.

      How is MS in deep trouble if it runs Linux? People buying a 360 to install Linux on it are paying the same $299 or $399 as the people who buy it and leave Windows on it. I realize that those people who install Linux on their 360s probably won't be buying an Xbox Live subscription, but chances are they're still buying games and accessories just like everyone else.

      • Comment removed based on user account deletion
        • I do see it as being a media center. It could replace a DVR, Stereo, DVD, and could be used for things like editing digital video, email, and web surfing. I am still wondering who will be the first to create a DVR+P2P television network. I would rather have a computer myself since I doubt that Sony will let just anyone program for the PS3.
          Seems like a very logical and cheap way to distribute content. Your DVR downloads your favorite shows while you are at work or asleep and the network pays very little for
        • And how many of those people are going to put linux on the PS3. Very few I guarantee. Not everyone cares to put linux on a gaming machine or even could.

  • One of Reasons (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    For Japanese people, Xbox360 is too large, too heavy and too fuel-inefficient...like an American Vehicle.
    • When I was in Yokohama in 1999/2000, I saw a lot of SUVs. Nothing like here, but a lot more than you would expect or need with a large purely urban population..

  • Sold out in the US... not in japan (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    I'm guessing the main reason X360 sold out in the US is due to eBay. Have you searched for xbox 360 on eBay? Have you seen the people that bought 12-20 xbox 360s at launch in order to sell them for 3-5x more than they paid for them? I do hope at least half those people end up stuck with hardware they can't break even on!
  • So while North American and European buyers are desperate for more consoles, they are sitting on store shelves in Japan. Yeah, this whole worldwide launch thing was a GREAT idea.

  • My observations from Japan (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Ty ( 15982 ) on Tuesday December 13, 2005 @03:40AM (#14244874)
    I live and Kobe and frequent the big game stores here in in Osaka. 360 non-interactive demo units were put out maybe a month ago. Showing some racing game that, quite frankly, doesn't look much better than stuff available for the last generation. I don't recall anyone ever standing in front of it for more than a few seconds. This is in contrast to the loads of people generally standing around and watching demo units of new games for the other systems.

    Recently, they put up demo units that you can actually play. I've noticed people playing the 360 all of one time. And this is in contrast to the other systems which almost always have someone playing.

    Yeah, for whatever the reason, Japanese are passing on it.

    • I live in Kanagawa, but spent today in Akihabara [akiba.or.jp] and in my local Yodobashi Camera [yodobashi.com] (mega-geeky places to hang out in Japan). I saw similar things. People were as interested to play the PSPs on the next booth over. I had no trouble getting on the two machines they had set up, and got to have a go without delay. The other thing was that there wasn't much playable. I saw someone getting frustrated with Kameo (had some issues working the controls out - couldn't make his armadillo do a super-roll), and other than
    • I love how the same damned DQ8 ad was played for six friggin' months straight while I was there (in every freaking store. hearing the orchestral theme sends me into a berserk frenzy), and yet Microsoft's Important Launch didn't even get half that amount of publicity...

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