Japan Hated The Xbox Before It Was Even Out

The Xbox never caught on in Japan. The 360 is having problems, too. Ever wonder why? There are any number of reasons why Japan won't embrace the console now, but let's go back to the very beginning.

[stonecold3]

will always dominate there in japan m$ has got no chance to even outsell sony or nintendo there its going to be the same for kinect

[Masamori Sumimura]

how can Kinect outsell a whole brand?

[ComboBreaker]

Japanese prefer devices that don't RRoD.

[Millah]

Japanese people are smart, thats why.

Actually, Japanese are very brand loyal, and have a completely different culture when it comes to gaming. Sometimes its hard for foreign brands to compete in Japan.

[Cold 2000]

Thats a curious reason considering the original xbox was more reliable than the PS2 back in the day and the 360 now but still flopped.

The people who agreed with you were either born after the 360 launched or have an IQ level of 32. I'd go for the latter.

[Vojkan]

Xbox 1 had no chance in Japan, come on now it had no game, all best games were on PS2, well know brand and sequel to the most popular console of all time. And here comes some western white dude and thinks Japanese should be all over this s..t just cuz he is from USA? hell no!
Sure they did better job with 360 but again not enough. After releasing two JRPGs, they pulled the plug. WTF?!

[Eamon]

Here come the kids who all think they are professional economists and sociologists!

[Theonik]

Well for one the Original Xbox was huge. One of the reasons it was hated in Japan was that. after that the PS2 had a much better library especially in Japan. Not to mention they were at the disadvantage of being "The new kid" and being built around a completely different target audience.

[skip2mylou]

@cold2000 wow you re really delusional even back then the original xbox wasnt reliable it would freeze up randomly when i would try playing games, one or two days in the week it would freeze on me and i had to to a reset on it.

[XabiTheHumble]

Actually thats uncertain, the only reason why more reports of broken PS2s were present was because it sold a hell of a lot more than the original xbox

[FanboyPunisher]

They just buy products withing Asian culture, they support their own continent.

Asia = Smart
N.A = Stupid

New world leaders in tech/money/world power..

Asia, because they = smart.

[davidmccue]

Why do the articles from the bigger name websites get pushed through the front page quite a few times, saw this article a day ago. Think some back handers are going on if you ask me. :(

[No Way]

That is true. But, there were many PS2 to fail, of numerous different reasons
I had 3 PS2's break on me. But, I'm glad my PS3 is still running strong.

Sony fixed a lot of issues from the PS2. That's good.
And, next generation, I'm sure Microsoft will do the same.

[morganfell]

Just what we need, more 360 apologists from Kotaku.

[Sarcasm]

Japan doesn't hate the Xbox, they just aren't going to buy it.

[ShinMaster]

That's why.

K, but in all seriousness though, it's all about the games. And I guess most Xbox games don't appeal to most Japanese people.

[Fan Tastic]

And yet some racists americans still love the xbox simply because it is US versus japanese.. Doesn't really matter that the nintendo and playstation are vastly superior, they are from japan.

[iMaddy]

I think they just still upset on Americans for atomic bombing back in 1945.

After that all Japans capital became Americal capital.
Japan not allowed to have an army. Only small SDF (SelfDefenceForces).

If i would Japan i would like to hate Americans too.

On the other hand Americans just get the best they could from all over the world for their dollar they print from usuall paper.

Just think about..America as a whole country buy goods from all over the world just for usual paper called dollar. they can print on that paper $ sing and paper became a dollar. but for them that is still a paper they can print in amount they need. uncontrolled amount.

All world is in American hidden form of slavery while dollar is an only world currency.

[elmaton98]

The ps2 was more reliable than the 1st xbox even I keep my ps2 after 6 years and my first xbox died after a couple months that why we prefer the PS3 now than the 360 why because we know that the PS3 has a longer life than a 360 ( my first 360 died after 6 months and it was an elite 120 g )

[SonyPS360]

They weren't smart enough to buy the most powerful console at the time though, were they?

[RageAgainstTheMShine]

Now they are blaming and making the Japanese people look bad? Kraptaku are such ungrateful dead bastridges!
Why don't you retarded folks just say "Xbox had no appeal!" or "Xbox is obviously a second rate , trying hard, unreliable, copy cat of the PlayStation"

Ever since the Japanese has been using safe, efficient, economical and state-of-the-art hardware post World War II and you expect them to buy a defective POS? The Japs knows best when it comes to quality. I don't know about most Americans but even up to now I am baffled why many put up with M$ hardware.

The reason why Xbox still sells in that region is for Asian retailers to sell them modified after. That has been the practice there since the Famicom.

[Rush]

Here we go again...

Only on N4G a site for complete and utter retards would people get more agrees for completely racist remarks like Asia = smart, NA = Stupid.

Most of the user base on this site = retarded fact.

[Hideo_Kojima]

Off Topic
The Japanese are really smart...
Or is it spot On Topic?

[AAACE5]

It's always a sign of ignorance to hate something before you know anything about it!

I used to hate the Ps1 and chose to stick with Nintendo 64. I realized it was stupid to hate something without giving it a try. Soon after, I realized Ps1 was a good thing. I became a fan since then. The Ps2 was the best. I spent tons of hours playing Ps2 games.

Since then, I have tried to make it a habit to own all available consoles, because they all offer something different!

Life is about experience.... Why the hell should I limit my experience by owning 1 console and being loyal to a company who doesn't give a sh*t about me, when all they want is my money anyway!

[JUDALATION]

The PS3 has the best single player games and is free online. The Japanese market does not like online shooters and the games they play are different from what Xbox makes... zenogears and pokemon are big and are not on the 360... Why would a japanese person buy an American car or Xbox when their cars and the ps3 has better overall features compared to their needs? a FREE BROWSER AND FREE ONLINE HD BLUE RAY PLAYER WITH THE BEST GAMES PLUS A COOL COMPANY THAT DOES NOT BULLY THE COMPETITION VS THE XBOX WITH NO WI FI BLUERAY AND BROWSER AND ONLY FPS.... the real question is why the Hell the XBOX HAS SUCH A huge lead OVER ps3 IN THE US??? there is no real reason except price, but since xbox cost 60 bucks a year even that does not make sence.

[Masamori Sumimura]

You just answered your own question. You asked why would a Japanese person buy a Xbox if there's no games that appealed to them? Why do you think people in america love the xbox so much then ? because there's games that appeal to them. just like you stated japanese people love XenoSaga,Pokemon and other stuff and dont love shooters . here in america they love Halo , Call of duty gears and have a big love for shooting stuff. lol

it's all about appeal.

[Denethor_II]

"here in america they love Halo"

The internet is not America, with a capital A, it's cyber space, just saying;)

[No Way]

That's not all true. The 360 had many of many JRPGs this gen.
Now, and even before the PS3 was released, and they still didn't buy it.

[shoddy]

Square love MS..............money.

[drewboy704]

No Wifi? My xbox has it built in. Only FPS? I like Forza and Gears which is third person in case you've never seen it. Also Pokemon isn't on the PS3 so why would you bring that up when you are having an xbox/ps debate with yourself?

[ShinMaster]

It's the endless Xbox cycle of games for fans.

[Armyntt]

Shinogino, and your point. Hows that any different then the 14 pokemon games in japan every year.

[baodeus]

while i agree, but never say never. I couldn't believe that Japan embrace iphone. Very unlikely, but just don't say never just in case.

[gigaware]

Kinect is almost here can you tell?

[drewboy704]

All the talk about sales and increased PS3 Trolling whenever a comparison article comes around gives it away.

[iamtehpwn]

Japanese trust Japanese brands and companies before they trust American ones; You can attribute this to Japan's bit of xenophobia if you like, but really Xbox not being from a Japanese country is what hurts it the most.

[Kingmitch23]

What about apple then?

[ShinMaster]

Apple is not exactly a major gaming company.
In terms of consoles and gaming systems, Xbox is the third wheel and it will take a lot to replace either Nintendo or Sony. And that won't be happening any time soon with the games Microsoft releases.

[evrfighter]

"What about apple then? "

what about it? the walkman of our day and age is a tiny shadow of its former self.

the Iphone....well I guess Japanese aren't as smart as all you weaboos make them out to be.

[elmaton98]

Who doesn't hate the US the whole of Asia does Europe does and the rest of the world that why whatever comes from America doesn't sell well in the world because is always defective ( why do you think people prefer Europe cars rather than American )

[Eu]

People who compares the failure rats of the first 3 years od the X360 with the problems PS2 had for ONE YEAR is something I dont have words to describe....

By the way, my LAUNCH PS2 is still kicking, and my cousins play the Fifa games whenever they come to my place (I dont let them touch my PS3, 14 year olds are way too clumsy)

@topic
Besides the wrong approach MS had with the first Xbox, their new one with X360 wasnt as happy. Heck, even when they bough some exclusives trying to please the japanese market it backfired on the 3rd parties that did it.
The perception the japanese gaming market have of the MS consoles are not good, and with the X360 absurd failure rate, the third iteration wont sell well either.

[elmaton98]

Ha that why the 360 is falling in 3rd place why because is a failure and I have one but I don't use it anymore

[mookuns]

With the Japanese, it's quality over quantity.

[mint royale]

Yeah the wii really is kicking ass.

[chidori soukou]

Face it microsoft cant win in Japan. If Xbox360 came out when the original Xbox did, PS2 would still out sell xbox360. Thats how pathetic they are, Microsoft has no chance in Japan..

[Ravage27]

the Japanese probably viewed the 360 as nothing more than a major annoyance. M$ and their f-ing pathetic timed exclusive deals definitely left a sour taste in fans from both camps.

StarOcean 4 and ToV are games from popular series with long traditions and would be developed with or without M$ funding. The net effect of these deals merely prevented PS3 owners from playing them instead of letting them go multiplatform. And when the deal ends, the superior versions will end up on the PS3, leaving the 360 japanese owners wondering why on earth did they buy that useless box for.

M$ next box will definitely bomba in Japan again after all the ill will their dick moves have generated.

[zeddy]

theres no metal gear solid 4 or last guardian for the 360 thats why it fails in japan.

[Longrod_Von_Hugendon]

But...but Apple seems to be doing just find in Japan so why can't MS???

[vhero]

Forget the article from this biased website that is one lovely picture :)

[Hanif-876]

Its the same in the US because when i go out to GameStop they'll do everything in the world to try to convince you not to buy a PS3. Trust me when i say this! I think HipHopGamer did a thing on this too.

[Darth_Bane79]

I remember I went to buy a game there once and they put the 360 version in my bag, I caught it and told him that I said I wanted the PS3 version, and the clerk gave me a funny look. Then next to me another clerk was hustling another costumer into pre-ordering Kinect (which back then it was till called Natal) and telling him all sorts of fantastic stories about all the amazing things the device would allow him to do. I just left the store disgusted and never bought a game there again. Online or Best Buy for me.

[FACTUAL evidence]

PS2 was out.

[MURKERR]

If you ever have the chance to go you will be astonished at how many years they are ahead of us in electronics.hype will not do it like in USA or the UK that is why ms are failing miserably over there. susbstance behind is the hype is needed like wii with its then revolutionary motion controls,ds with its touch screen,ps3 with bluray...360 offered nothing new hardware wise that wasnt already done on the ps2. .Dvd,wireless control pads etc

Kinect is there last chance over there, i know im going to get disagrees but i see kinect selling over there maybe just at initial launch but i do it selling at first. ....Depends if they just view it as another eye toy though its 50/50

[Masamori Sumimura]

That's not really it. I'm pretty sure japanese people arent interested in Xbox360 in it's current state because there's nothing worth playing on it to them. The lack of Rpg's,platformers on the console is the obvious problem. The xbox brand is still brand new aswell it will take time for them to pick up where Nintendo and sony always ruled. They'll most probably never be as big as sony and nintendo in japan because those two have a longer history in the gaming industry.

[Denethor_II]

"The xbox brand is still brand new aswell"

Well, no. That's no excuse. The Xbox brand is only a generation behind the playstaion brand. The problem is that Americans like to shoot and kill things, which, lets face it, takes no logic, fore thought or intelligence to accomplish, and thier games encompass this. Whereas the Playstation brand embraces everything gaming has to offer, which is why I love it.

[ShinMaster]

It's because the Xbox is the third wheel in gaming.

[hennessey86]

In the grand scheme of things sony is still newcomer. gamings been around for allot longer than the playstation. nintendo will always rule in japan,

[Tsalagi]

"The problem is that Americans like to shoot and kill things, which, lets face it, takes no logic, fore thought or intelligence to accomplish, and thier games encompass this."

Yeah, because i never shot anything on a Playstation console before. Twisted Metal, Syphon Filter, Metal Gear Solid, or Doom never existed.

Also, i see by your name you are from the UK. Care to guess what the two top selling games there are this month? Fallout New Vegas and Medal of Honor, you know, shooters.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/...

By the way, I am a PS3 only owner so you can save the Xbox fanboy crap.

[kaveti6616]

by your logic the ps3 also doesn't offer much that the ps2 doesn't have. it boils down to different tastes. look how well iphones do in japan. they're inferior to droid phones in just about every way, but iphones sell more in japan because of the style. the japanese aren't any smarter than the americans.

people in general are all just about the same. there are no "smarter" people or "more advanced" cultures. It is ethnocentrism that makes us believe that they are.

And there are some things about Western Culture that the Japanese love. They love the Christmas traditions and they love dressing up as bikers with slicked back hair, like James Dean.

They don't like Xbox because it doesn't appeal to them. That is it.

[Masamori Sumimura]

I have to agree. Alot of people have used the argument that japanese love ipods which mean they dont hate america etc etc. Appele's Ipod/Iphones is a very Big brand and people will buy it for the name and style without exactly knowing the hardware capabilities . I could name a list of better Phones , MP3 players that people probably never thought of buying just because it's not ''IN''. There's tons of stuff that sells specifically based on Popularity. Just look how well the xbox is doing here in america. It's safe to assume that the xbox brand is a popular one here in the West and that it's less popular in the West. It'S all about Appealing to a market. If you Offer a variety a games that dont appeal to a a certain market you wont find any consumers for it. Nintendo and japan both had the advantage of being created 1st in japan people over there have grown with these brands. Microsoft never had that chance and will mostly never be as popular in japan. Nintendo and Sony always offered stuff that appealed to both West and Eastern Markets which is why they are popular in both areas.

[MURKERR]

Hardware wise which i stated in my comment ps3 was different from ps2,wii was different from gamecube, was the 360 from the original xbox?

Ive been japan many times believe it or not hip hop is absolutley huge there are b-boys everywhere,american artists are huge over there japan have embraced american culture and really enjoy it.360 'was' a poorly built machine suffering from rrod and no amount of rpgs could mask that fact.

Where did i say the japanese were smarter please point it out? Seems i touched a personal nerve,As for there are no 'advanced cultures' are you not more advanced than the tribes living in the rainforests?did i state the japanese are telekinetic? No but the japanese are advanced in technology and your comment suggests you have never been there so how can you make such a bold comment? Thats called ignorance,Even down to camera phones japanese had them years before any of us, they have been watching tv on their phones for years, actual androids are not an uncommon site in japan.have a look at most of the electronic devices you have and read where they came from or where they are made, So yes they are way advanced in technology like it or not

[Ron Jeremy]

Next time kaviet think before you type

[Kimbo Slice]

You are a tool

[kaveti6616]

You guys will base all of your bullshit claims off of one feature.

The 360 is different from the original Xbox in many ways as well. It is has various upgrades. Just because it still uses the DVD9 you guys are saying it's not different?

How stupid are you fanboys?

The problem with me is that I DO think before I type. Unfortunately, this is not the place for thinkers. Right now, it's all PS3 fanboys. If I say something that isn't highly critical of the 360 or highly flattering of the PS3 I get morons like you guys replying with the same sheep-like logic.

You guys might as well use the Chewbacca defense against me. It's more valid than anything you've said so far.

[TheOldOne]

you said: "ps3 doesnt offer much that the ps2 doesnt have" and
"I DO think before I type"

wow the most retarded comments I hav read this week.

Seriously WTF are you smoking!!??

[Millah]

Kaveti, could you possibly be any more ignorant?

[lowcarb]

There's no reasoning with these silly multi account trolls. What you said was spot on and does not need to be explained.

"Its funny how on N4G the person with the least amount bubbles always calls others fanboys"

What's funny is someone with a brain obviously smaller than godzilla has so many bubbles. It's sickening to come across posts like yours which I swear sound like 3 or 4 known PS3 trolls on this site.

[HDgamer]

Meh Lowcarb you can't be more further from the truth than Mike tyson in prison. Ps3 is nowhere near like the ps2, the xbox 360 only is an 1.5 upgrade of the original xbox. Gimped games, multiplatforms, very little exclusives, horrible Square enix rpg's. Why risk your money on a failed product?

[visualb]

=|

[MURKERR]

Its funny how on N4G the person with the least amount bubbles always calls others fanboys....also i see disagreeing with you causes you to namecall because you seem to lack the intelligence to reply in an adult manner whilst stating your points.

now your talking about updates when i CLEARLY said hardware wise? Your sinking, now to prove my point on my original comment ps2,original 360 an xbox are all similar.....

Dvd9
lack of HDMI
Wireless battery operated controllers can be bought for all
slide out dvd tray
lack of sensitivd touch buttons
ps2/360..hardrive optional

i think you can get my point, DOESNT mean its a bad thing its just my OPINION on things as i go to japan alot,im not saying its law or im right but its just my opinion,we all have one.oh and a little advice kaviet stating facts in an adult manner good or bad doesnt make a person a fanboy or mean they are bashing a product ALL products have their flaws and you have certainly showed yours.....

[k2d]

It's a console for freaking 1. person shooters - or so is the general impression in Japan, and japanese gamers aren't into fps'.

[vhero]

It will sell well at first every accessory with the right advertising does even the eye toy did which sold a few million to be fair but never took off.

[NoBUDI]

Flashbacks. Hiroshima.
Payback's a beast

[FiftyFourPointTwo]

lmao. this is so wrong but its funny. :D

[Dirk Benedict]

and yet here we are, with the yen strong against the dollar. leave the past alone for it does nothing but hold you back from the present.

[Urahara]

It wasn't a japanese product thus they hated it. Don't really need an article to explain that one.

[Sigh]

If that's true, then why is Apple so popular over there?

[MorganX]

Because Japanese prefer flip phones to smartphones. Flip phones dominate. iPhone is big with smartphone users but that's a small part of the market. Not like America. Becuase flip phones are so dominant, that's what most japanese phone suppliers provide.

There are 3 major console makers, 2 Japanese, 1 American. They don't buy the American console. The few that are bought are absolutely negligible. Do you really think the Japanese are going to go out and buy tons of American Xboxes when there are 3 major players in the world and 2 are Japanese. Please.

I'm not sure it really matters at this point. Xbox doesn't need Japan, America (and its allies) can sustain it, but it would be nice. Who would turn away sales. Japanese do have wierd tastes, from shark fin soup, to, well, visit their red light district yourself. But to pretend there isn't Nationalism at work is naive.

[ShinMaster]

The Xbox is the third wheel.

[HDgamer]

Japanese know a good product, it's basically like Sony.

[Vegeta9000]

The reason they don't use something isn't because it's American. The reason they hate stuff like the Xbox is because it's not a quality product and the competition offers something much better.

[theafroman]

japan hates anything thats not from japan their a bit close minded

[soundslike]

disagree all you want people you know its true. and he said "a bit" not "utterly and completely xenophobic cuntrags" lol

[TheGreenMan]

And read some of the above posts. Actually, let me just break it down for you simpletons, so you can understand.

Apple = kills in Japan
Apple = American company

...so, if you're still following me, that means Japan does not only buy Japanese products. The exception is the rule.

It's okay though, you can keep making excuses as to why the Xbox brand doesn't do well. I personally think it was the failure rating when the 360 came that killed it. The original Xbox didn't really stand a chance against the PS2, due to it's massive install base. Then, when MS released the 360 it had an enormous failure rate. I personally wouldn't buy a toaster that failed as much as the 360 did; let alone a $400 gaming system (which was the price at the time). Apparently much of Japan felt the same way.

[Jazz4108]

Its easy to understand. There are three players in gaming and two are japanese. We are talking about japan. Of course they are going to be loyal to there own first. Same with xamerica but america is more open to buying what is popular then brand loyality...

[The Lazy One]

Apple does decent in japan. it doesn't kill in japan.

It has like 70% of the smartphone market, but that's only 4% of the whole phone market there.

source: http://www.cultofmac.com/th...

It's been true for years. Look at car sales there if you don't believe it.

[plb]

The only people who likely buy xbox 360 in Japan are those stuck on an American military base. I was stuck on one for 6 months there so I should know.

[Allowen]

I talked with friends many times about this matter :
What Microsoft should do to have better console salles in Japan.

We think that Microsoft should try to buy or team up with a big japonese company such as Sega.

Imagine Sega's games only coming to an Xbox console .This way M$ could do hell better and gain a lot more respect in Japan.

[256bit]

it was called the DREAMCAST

[HuGi]

people will be talking here about japan... i love how this guys predict the future haha

[boing]

Japanese buy Japanese only products

[Motorola]

I think its because of the technology. Each PS console introduced something new. CD games, DVD games and hard drive in PS2 of 40 GB, and Blu ray games and HDMI in every PS3 console. They are more recent and advanced. Xbox 360 was out before blu ray and HDMI took off. MS made up for the lack of blu ray with HDMI and introduced great Wifi internally on the slim, which is a start. If Microsoft release the next gen console first again, then the same situation as now will probably happen

[xg-ei8ht]

I don't hate america, i'm from the uk and what sells most in the UK is 360, but that is starting to change alittle here.

But i don't like crap hardware, case in point phillips. I would never buy their tv's, because they are poorly made, known so many people have them fail and fail again, different models as well.

Samsung and lg, big little brother:) has always been excellent.

On the Subject of phones, Nothing touches HTC.

My point, if hardware is poor, no buy. If software isn't upto scratch, no buy.

PS3 software range is better for me, and i remmeber old titles that i enjoy on the PS1.

[GigaGaia]

Would be even funnier if there was a 4 in the name, 4 represent death. The PS4 will have a 4 in it, but japan won't care since Sony make superior consoles then Microsoft.

[IHateYouFanboys]

like ive said many times, the japanese are fiercely loyal when it comes to technology products. if theres a choice of american and japanese, they buy japanese. its just how their culture is. i mean, until recently Capcom wouldnt even let any of their devs that werent Japan based use their 'best' video game engine. that says a lot for how they work.

the thing is, Microsoft doesnt need to sell xboxs in japan. japan makes up for a very small amount of console sales in the lifetime of a console. and hey, microsoft are still beating sony after 4 years of competing sales, and thats with only selling a dozen 360s a week in japan.

and like ive said before, the video game world is leaving Japanese developers behind. the video game market is swinging towards Western style games, and the quirky/weird japanese games are getting left behind. Final Fantasy used to be the biggest name in video games, now its been reduced to rubbish because Japanese developers wont move with the times. as sales of the top selling games show, video game players want games like Halo, Call of Duty, Gears of War, Rock Band, etc.

all it boils down to is that basically ANY consoles microsoft sell in japan are a bonus to Microsoft. they expect no sales, so getting a few thousand every month is better than they were expecting.

[guzman]

@Ihateyoufanboys: Mario Kart Wii, New Super Mario bros, Wiifit, any mainline Pokemon title, Smash bros. Brawl, Brain Training, good thing these "western games" are the top sellers of this gen. Seriously, if ignoring Nintendo's sales this gen helps you sleep better at night, than more power to ya kiddo.

[jc48573]

tbh, you have no idea how superstitious "people" can be.

[MorganX]

Anyone who knows the history of WWII and why we dropped 2 nukes when the war was basically already lost for Japan know how "superstitious" and cultural they can be.

[xX TriiCKy Xx]

Sure...they hated. But now they have a 360 and a white PS3 and every freakin household.

[soundslike]

their hands are too small for the OG xbox controller. (GOD MY GIANT HANDS LOVED THAT THING)

[MorganX]

Good point, as many Americans find the PS3 controller too small. Still, I don't think a mini controller would make a difference.

There was an Xbox game called N.U.D.E, now a bunch more of those in HD might make a difference. I'd like to try it myself. Not sure if MS actually ever released it. I think they may have felt it would tarnish their image in US.

[Ninferno]

wasnt xbox codenamed midway? the same codename used by the US to outsmart japan?

[guzman]

Yeah, that worked out well for MS huh?

[Optical_Matrix]

They don't have anything against foreign products. Japan LOVE Starbucks, Baseball, Apple Products, Nike, Abercrombie & Fitch, Disney...just Microsoft is synonymous with poor quality products and I guess that's just stuck. It's more of a case of Japan won't embrace Microsoft, or at least the Xbox 360 brand. They have nothing against foreign products. They're just more brand loyal when it comes to gaming because by in large Nintendo and Sony's systems cater more to the Japanese gaming market.

[MorganX]

The real deals? Imports, or japanese chinese forgeries. Especially with regards to Nike. Chances are greater than 50% any Nike product sold in Japan is not a genuine Nike product.

[Optical_Matrix]

Perhaps the dumbest comment evert. It's China thats known for it's fakes. Not Japan. Japan is the complete opposite. Have you been to Japan before? Have you seen their Nike Stores? Japan doesn't do knock offs or forgeries. It's China and smaller south eastern asian countries that do. Go there for yourself and see. Of course the real deals.

I love how, because China does it, you automatically assumed Japan does. Japan has no need to when they're the original creators of most of the great modern technology that we use anyway. And they're living standard is so much higher than most countries. Why would they need to make knock offs? There are some serious misinformed people on this site.

[guzman]

Op_matrix: You think that lobotomized nut-hugger MorganX could even afford a trip to Japan? Just sit back and revel in his stupidity.

[Knushwood Butt]

Has everyone forgotten when Peter Moore was at the 360 launch in Shibuya, Tokyo and had more verbal diarrhea, boldly claiming to everyone present, including the press, that the 360 was going to be number 1?

That kind of BS may wash elsewhere, but not in Japan, particularly when it isn't backed up by anything whatsoever. I mean, it really isn't difficult to talk crap.

[JasonXE]

end of the xbox /end

[Obama]

ha that's wierd. I am not Japanese and I certainly hate the 360 :D

[soundslike]

O RLY. HOW DO I KNOW THAT. WHERE IZ UR BURTH CERTEFFiCATE

DEY TOOK R JAWBZ

[Organization XII]

hahaha... south park is fuking epic, oh and yeah everyone hates the Xbox, even Xbox owners and Microsoft themselves hate the Xbox 360, no wonder they're not supporting the hardcore gamers...

[ohdavey]

xbox > sony

[visualb]

p.s.

xbox is a 6 year old console, Sony is a company

thats like saying

sandwich > plant

debubble and ignore

[Denethor_II]

Well, far be from the fore front of gaming tecnology to not embrace a western piece of shit. And it is a piece of shit, I know becuase I own one;)

[Killzone3Helghast]

Microsoft is American. 'Nuff said.

[Eu]

All I've been reading here are xenophobic comments of people who neve went to Japan, and any other country in Asia, to have an actual perspective of things.

Japan doesnt sees MS as quality. Complain all you want, but japanese people sees quality as the MOST important thing when buying anything. MS and its shoddy software problems are well know there. They use it because, hey, guess who have, basically, the monopoly of the market? Things may change even in there...

The first Xbox came out with a weak lauching plan, and it bombed. Its name mean Batsu Box, wich means NO/WRONG Box. Thats not 'cool' there. What killed the brand trhere weas the RROD problems the X360 came out with. IF an estabilished brand does produce some shoddy hardware there, it have time to correct it. If its not estabilished, its a seppuku to lauch a POS hardware.

PS- I've been there many times in the last few years, and still have lots of friend that actually live there. They love McDs and KFC....not funny to go to Japan and actually go to eat in a KFC....

[guzman]

Amen EU, amen.

[PirateThom]

This whole "HUR JAPAN HATES THE 360 BECAUSE ITS AMERICAN" nonsense has got to stop, seriously... there's countless western brands that are popular in Japan.

The 360 just doesn't do anything for consumers there, it's not some strange phenomenon. Some places just don't take to a product as much as others.

[saint_john_paul_ii]

last i heard, Iphones/ipods are pretty popular over there

[visualb]

truth:

1) brand loyalty, Japanese love Sony (fact) and nintendo (fact) and this allowing a 3RD console isn't easy, especially one with less variety in games and more hardware instability.

2) product quality. Japs are obcessed with quality, and tbh, technically, Sony has that over MS (hardware wise)

thats it

[leonlion]

America HATED the PS3 before it even came out?

[clrlite]

... and i dont like MS ;x has nothing to do with it being an american company, strange. The Japanese dig Apple and it's an American brand, so that argument goes right out the window (hah, be objective). Oh and from what I hear, Japanese chicks dig American guys. I am so going there. I will eat sushi off of a gold PS3 w/ 2 chicks while I drink Sapparo (Japanese) beer and play with my Iphone. Then, I'll go sing karaoke under the (simulated) moonlight. It's Going to be very speciala.

MMMM.... Gold PS3 <drools>

[Killzone3Helghast]

The whole world hates America and I sure know America is the last place on Earth I would go.

[TheNocturnus]

Us Americans hate you too.

[256bit]

america hates the US

*FIXED

[OhMyGandhi]

um...
did anyone read the article?
well, I don't know if a paragraph and a half makes for an article, or several lengthy twitter posts, but such an odd piece of writing.

it says nothing about anything.

"the x means death, and black means death, but in japan, it had a smoky color, but wait, wasn't the ps2 black?".

that was it.

if you going to release an article with such a statement as "Japan Hated The Xbox Before It Was Even Out", you better elaborate and tell us something new, not write as if your ending a conversation with someone about something.

hmm...I feel taken back.

[menoyou]

proof that the japanese are intelligent

[awi5951]

Japanese love to have a Sony Laptop explode in there Lap. I guess they like roasted Nuts lol.

[skip2mylou]

ummm noooo they are using toshiba more if anything

[TheNocturnus]

The real reason the Japanese do not buy Microsoft products is because Godzilla threatened to destroy Tokyo every 6 months for 3000 years if the Xbox 360 ever outsells the PS3 in Japan.
True story...

[larrym]

I've said it before, Microsoft should just pull out of Japan. Jesus, Nintendo and Sony are Japanese companies, I wonder why they're doing good over there. The type of games most Americans like are different than the type those freaks over there like. And I've been to Tokyo when I was in the military, they have some very, should I say, unique tastes.

Japanese games don't have that same punch they did back in the early 90's. Their RPG games are the same typical spiky haired, bug eyed kid type of games, Final Fantasy in particular. Their games are not selling like they used from what I've read, and most of the games I'm looking for are from Western developers.

Why should it even come as a shock the Xbox brand is not doing well over there? Just like coming on to this website and seeing all the certain fangirls with their pom poms out cheering for a certain console should not be a shock.

[Ruggadagod]

then don't buy Japanese games then and your problems will be solved.

[Ruggadagod]

A SUPER FLOP.

[Hitman0769]

and a lot of americans hated ps3 before it came out, point?

[PirosThe4th]

I think they only hate Microsoft... and even i hate them... :P

[Horny Melon]

console would fail there due to Japan's polite/impolite racism. Don't tell me it doesn't exist, their laws treat foreign workers as second class and as a 6'5" blonde haired blue eyed American people were constantly yelling "Gaijin" across the street at me while I attended TGS.

[BannedForNineYears]

So did I.........So did I......>_>

[CellularDivinization]

WOOO the comments stink of weebos and neckbeards! All I see is "yes ms sucks ps3 is better". Get a girlfriend and stop glamorizing your console.

[mitsuhede]

"yes ms sucks ps3 is better" Well said. lol

[CellularDivinization]

@mistsubishi
If its well said, why did you disagree with me?

[GoldPS3]

I disagree. You said get a gf when you probably don't have one yourself.

[mitsuhede]

Lol xD

[mitsuhede]

Say wha? Someone with a picture of Cell from dbz as their avatar on N4g telling people to get girlfriends actually cares about some one thumbing down his comment loool xD? Yeah man...anyways. Btw I didn't touch your freakin comment lmao...

Edit: Lol Mistsubishi...its Mitsuhede

[Whackedorange]

The xbox brand failed in JPN simply because they are very found of the nation and most of them ONLY supports products that is made i JPN. Their main reason for doing so is not cause the ps3 is better to the 360 cause last gen that table was turned but the main reason why japanese dont buy an american made product is because of what happened at the end of WW II. They are a proud people

[Optical_Matrix]

"the main reason why japanese dont buy an american made product is because of what happened at the end of WW II"

You are so misinformed it's hilarious

[QuantumSponge]

Self-imposed market protectionism?

Anyway, the likely explanation is simply that there aren't enough games on the Xbox that cater to people's tastes over here. Which is too bad, really, because they're missing out on a lot of great experiences and advancements made over in the west recently.

[zackacloud]

It not about japan or america

it about the games

there no a new games on xbox

FPS games and Forza and alan

look at ps

infamous - uncharted - MGS - GT - TEAM Ico games - past SE games - KillZone - Dark Cloud - Demon Souls - WKC .ETC

These Games was FOR FUN not for shoot and sell

MS just buy the copyright from ps2 games for xbox

MGS Rizing just big $$ from MS for Kojima

I always thinging how much MS paid for Square Enix for FFXIII ??!!

[Silber]

To clarify this: The Color of Death is White not black(In Japan).

[Tassadar2]

The only way a US company such as MS could have succeeded in Japan is to quitely own a recognized Japanese company such as Sega. Just to come in with there american culture and xbox machine and expect to compete against japanese companies was not going to happen.

It would be like them trying to come here and build a company to dominate our own movie industry they can't ever do that.

[Master of Unlocking]

Here we go again with an article from what have to be defined as the most monomaniacal, immature, and hate-filled Microsoft fanboys at kotaku, whining again because the japanese don't wanna buy the xbox. Dang, those people really are stubborn, aren't they.
Love it or loathe it, the world outside of the USA has different points of view to you people! Not just the japanese, the europeans too, the russians, the people in the UAE...

Aside from the fact that, like EU said, the name "X-box" was ill-fated in Japan right from the beginning (very informative and very true. Bubbles my friend!), you need to understand that US-made games like Gears of war usually sport an artistic direction (if any)and an overall design which tend to prove a little stomach-churning for the majority of the people that live outside of the USA. And I can assure you you don't necessarily have to be Japanese or asian to feel this way.

Of course, having pretty much only TPS-FPS games with a heavy emphasis on online in a country which loves its RPGs and quirky games (like locoroco, bishi-bashi, etc.) and never considered playing online with strangers a natural thing, really didn't help MS either. Nor did the size of that thing in a country like Japan, where individual houses usually have a very limited space (and yes, the HI-FI space is also smaller, the shelves are smaller, everything is). That big fat ugly, flashy green "X" logo that looks like it was drawn by a 4-year old mental kid is yet another problematical thing, obviously.

"They just buy products withing Asian culture, they support their own continent.
Asia = Smart
N.A = Stupid
New world leaders in tech/money/world power..
Asia, because they = smart."

True, for the first part of your comment. The Japanese also happen to naturally support their economy by buying their own products first and foremost. But that alone doesn't make them smart. Hey, reality check: the americans also support their economy and are actually capable also of displaying a xenophobic attitude toward foreign products, not just in the gaming industry, and even more than the japanese or anybody else for that matter!
The problem however is, the Japanese do it naturally, it's an unconscious act, they just buy japanese without being told to do so, whereas the americans don't do it naturally. They do it because they're manipulated by those large media groups & Trusts (the like of CNet and co.), which are traditionnally more or less close to governmental&financial power and clearly have an interest in brainwashing US consumers into buying a certain product rather than another one (the former usually being american and the latter usually being a product that comes from Japan, France, Germany...you name it). Think about it: where else than the USA have pupils in a High-School ever been forced to sit and watch commercials for hours?! I mean, the simple thought of it would make any self-respecting Head of a HS anguish, for crying out loud!
Think about it US guys: do you buy a US product naturally? Or do you REMEMBER TO do it? Think for a second.

There are numerous reasons as to why the japanese don't buy into MS's products, but please, for the love of god, stop with those stereotypes that border on anti-japanese racism, like "the japanese hate the americans, yadda-yadda-yadda...". "Well, let's retaliate then, let's hate them and their products, Sony, the PS brand & co, yadda-yadda-yadda..."

Damn, I really hate immature morons like those guys at kotaku, they know darn well they are read on a daily basis by some american teen gamers, and know they can play said teens' a$$es against anybody with their oversimplistic views and sorry excuse for an argument.. And it works!

[QuantumSponge]

Relax, take a deep breath, and remember these words of wisdom from Lord Russell:

"No nation was ever so virtuous as each believes itself, and none was ever so wicked as each believes the other."

That goes for the rest of you, as well.

[DOOMZ]

Thats because they are Nationalist's...
They support their own countrys goods (Shouldn't all countrys do that)!?!

[Optical_Matrix]

No. They're not nationalists. For christs sakes this excuse needs to stop. CanAmericans just except that they don't like one of your products and as such don't buy it? Same way theres plenty of Japanese imports that do poorly in the west. It's not because we don;t like Japanese products, it's because they just don't do anything for us.
If Japan was nationalist, then explain to me why Apple products, Nike, Hollywood films, Abercrombie & Fitch, Starbucks, McDonalds, Baseball, and countless other western/american brands and products make so much money over there? Japan just doesn't like the Xbox. Simple as. Cry moar

[hoops]

Pop culture sell in Japan. Not American products for the most part. Baseball, clothing, food and movies you all listed are all part of the American pop culture scene.
Japanese with the exception of Apple will not in any circumstance buy American products. Plain and simple. Historically this has been true for decades

[PirateThom]

And a gaming console isn't part of pop culture?

[Kran]

so the reason why it never caught on was because of Japanese culture? This is why some cultures are stupid. Oh no. It's night time! THE SKY IS BLACK! DEATH IS COMING! RUN HOME JAPANESE PEOPLE!

And also, a Nintendo DS can come in black too. Let me guess... the black version never caught on in Japan too?

[Ruggadagod]

go back to playing pew pew reach.

[Kran]

You do realise i wasn't bagging the PS3. Im just saying how stupid some cultures are. And I aint annoying. I tell the truth >:)

[hoops]

Japanese are country brand loyal almost to the point of Xenophobia.
An American product in most cases will not sell well in that country

[unicronic]

..with all due respect - The Japanese are very nationalistic. I've worked in Japan before. Not all of the country are like this but enough to notice - example: going to a presentation with an Apple Mac or a Dell PC and being asked to return when you use a Japanese brand laptop. No joke this kinda stuff happens.

Sony & Nintendo make hardware for a global market but this nationalistic attitude is a primary reason why the Japanese games industry are struggling to sell outside of their own country.

I live in Asian and have Japanese friends and have no problem with Sony, MS or Nintendo. This attitude, however, is a complete reality.

[Picnic]

Apart from it not being a Japanese console, maybe the Xbox was too big and inelegant looking to be embraced by many of the Japanese.
The Japanese also aren't noted for being FPS lovers- it is said that this is because they like to see their character to know that they are just playing an 'actor' in a game rather than becoming personally psychologically involved.

However, can anyone explain to me how on earth the Sega Dreamcast sold relatively unspectacularly in Japan? It was small, elegant, and it appealed to both types of Japanese culture- it had quirky modern games like Jet Set Radio and the traditional Japanese themed Shenmue. It might as well have had 'Made for Japan and Japan lovers' written on it. Although that console has a relatively large cult following now, including in Japan, it remains a mystery why Japan didn't embrace it. I think that we give Japan too much credit in being trendsetters. Britain has been responsible for some of the most characterful, innovative, games.
And it's America's Apple, not Japan's Sony, who are now dominating portable music devices with the Ipod.

If anything, it seems that the Wii is representative of overall Japanese tastes.

Contrary to popular belief, the likes of Heavy Rain are heavily supported by the British, not the Japanese.

To me, the Japanese were right in a way to give Microsoft's clumsy looking first entry, with its so so range of games, the miss. But they've ignored a LOT of great games elsewhere remember. The West is a much more reliable supporter of great games.

[BlmThug]

People Who Still Say RRoD Is A Idiot, I Bought My Console A Year & Half Ago & No Problems Yet, No Overheating, If People Dont Take Car Of Their Products Then The Product Will Break

[DXM1]

So because you havent had an RROD in your 1.5 years of being xbox owner none of them fail?

Although you sound like a rather clever guy, i must ask you... How is that job mixing concrete treating you?

[BlmThug]

Care**

[DXM1]

Most of you know that Japanese prefer ps3 because:

1. It is based in Japan
2. It has better games.
3. Online is free.
4. It has Japanese favorite games.
5. Other reasons i forgot to include

But i also think that 1 reason why the ps3 may be preferred in Japan is that Sony and Microsoft have very different corporate mentalities. Microsoft's is along the lines of "Fuck the customer, market hard, give me the money, i dont care about anything else". Sony's on the other hand seems more based on the Japanese culture: the company doesnt try to fuck you over at every turn, and dont try to monetize at every corner. They realize they would rather build a large fanbase for the long term rather than profit quick and fast in the short term.

I Love that about Sony. Yesterday was saturday night, which means a free movie on PSN. The original "The Nightmare of Elm Street" was free to watch for everyone. This company doesnt charge for online, and does not make you buy proprietary hard drives if you want to upgrade your console.

Whats not to love about a company that includes good quality hardware, excellent games, free online, and has a good corporate mentality?

Can you really blame the Japanese?

[hiredhelp]

Japan Hated The Xbox Before It Was Even Out

GO JAPAN GO JAPAN

[MonopolyRSV]

Shotgun! I want the chick on the far right!

[Pikajew]

but more then half my games are Japanese games , i find them alot more fun to play

[DeathGazer]

Me too, Japan.

Me too.

[The Official]

It really doe'snt matter about Japan anymore in this Console Generation for the last 3 years.

You can argue all you want about why Japan don't like the xbox. there's about 20 reason why but who cares. Microsoft been got over that.
American Developers are Killing Japanese Developers in recent years sales wise wether you like it or not.

You guys are not looking at the big picture. Japanese Culture is played out because they are not the only ones who can provide stylistic action anymore.

Check this out folks.
Epic
Insomniac (Ted Price)
Infinity Ward
Treyarch
Visceral
Turn 10
Bungie
EA
SCE Studios Santa Monica (David Jaffe)
Activision
Shiny
Blizzard
Raven Software
2k Games
Lucas Arts
Bethesda
Rockstar
Bioware (Canadian, Non japoanese.)

Been Killing Ish this generation with games that has Excellent replay value while Selling Millions unlike Most japanese game developers that make these games that have no replay value after 2 go-rounds. Don't get me to naming them.

Man You clowns better do the knowledge.. This is Why America is the way it is. WE DON'T SUPPORT OUR OWN!!!

Lost Planet and Dead Rising were from a Japanese studio that were new IP's and sold multiplatinum on the 360 That spawned sequels and created new franchises In america and Japan still never supported them so i never matter what Japan did. Their gaming market is struggling also.

[Panaru]

Riiiiight. Sorry, but I like games that aren't first person shooters or third person shooters. Bet you twenty dollars that more shooters have come out from Western developers this generation than any "good", supposedly innovative non-shooter Western titles.

[patterson]

What a simple minded article.

How come there are no articles asking WHY the 360 is even a success? Because it shouldn't be.

Going back to the original xbox, the thing was big and ugly with a green X on top. The games were all PC ports that were watered down to accomodate the lack of mouse and keyboard. Most of the games were just dumbed down shooters.

The xbox was a failure because it lacked variety so MS kills it almost as quick as it came and started on the 360.

360 comes out and although aesthetically more pleasing, it was plagued with hardware problems like RROD, disk scratching, etc.. and the system only supported old school DVD9. You have to pay to play online, and when you do finally pay for online you realize that you're playing with a bunch of sh*t for brains racist homophobe @ssholes. What fun!

MS tried to get JRPG fans over and not just from Japan (believe it or not, Japan isn't the only place that loves and plays JRPGs), by buying up exclusives from well loved franchises. It helped some but it wasn't enough for MS to care about as they started to learn that these games are single player and they take a long time to make. They want more multiplayer games that can come out every 9 months because as we all know the money isn't in the games so much anymore. The money is in the subscription fees and DLC.

And so there are people out there who have the NERVE to ask, "Why don't the Japanese love teh XBOX!?"

Are you for real? The question should be, "Why should they?!"

And it's not just the Japanese. Most Europeans don't like it. And believe it or not, many Americans don't like the direction MS has taken console gaming down the path of simple online shooters and paying for a subscription when it's free everywhere else.

PS3 gamers like variety. We like shooters too, but that's not all we live on either.

[The5thApe]

When did N4G start hating the xbox?

[DXM1]

just around the time i signed up on these forums.

[Xander756]

Of course they didn't. Their culture is to remain loyal to Japanese based companies. It's different from ours where Americans simply go for the best made products regardless who made it.

[The Official]

You make perfect sense but get 5 disagrees for it. So you know why this site is pure shit.

Japan was the shit back in the day but they too fell off and people just want to by pass it. Like i said before.

Lots of american developers stepped they sh!t up big time.
And to the Dickhead who respond that Westerners are about the TPS. Look at my list closely and you will see a Plethora of Genre's from each developer.