Japanese Gamers Not Doing a 360

Microsoft battles nationalism, cultural differences, and Sony in Asia. What must they do to become the leader in this region, and what have they done wrong in the past?

The Xbox 360, the first of the next-gen game consoles and Microsoft's flagship device intended to make them the number one company in gaming is doing very well in the US, but has experienced a lackluster reception in Japan. Since this is an arena that MS must win over if it really wants to overtake the Sony Playstation juggernaut and the mega electronics corporation's stranglehold on the console gaming market, this is certainly the cause of some alarm up there in the Pacific Northwest.

In America the 360 is widely regarded as the Next Big Thing and has captured the hearts (and wallets) of gamers all over the country. Released a full year prior to the announced (finally) dates of the Playstation 3 and Nintendo's Wii system; the 360 is essentially without competition. No other console on the market can come close to it in terms of graphics and online capabilities. One would think that in Japan, where games are more a part of the culture than they are anywhere else in the world, the 360 would have been an instant hit. Yet the month of June provided another entry in a long line of abysmal sales figures for Bill Gates' software giant turned games company. Less than 1900 Xbox 360 consoles went home tucked under Japanese arms and the original Xbox sold a whopping total of eight units. Eight. That's four plus four, Dorothy Hamill's favorite number, the square root of 64; sold in a country with a population of 135 million people, most of whom play video games.

[gamerof360]

I think MS needs to get more RPG's i dont think the 360 needs to "win" in Japan but they have to do better than this

[specialguest]

yeap, that's all MS need more of and they'll be the perfect console.

quote from movie: Field of dreams "if you build it, they will come."

[silent ninja]

.....AND to deliver in quatity and quality very soon

[mike_mgoblue]

Microsoft has two AWESOME RPG's that will be coming to the Xbox 360 in Japan in 2007: Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey. Both of those games are from the creator of Final Fantasy, which will make the Xbox 360 much more popular.

However, there is a reason why the Xbox 360 is the fastest selling system in 40 of 41 countries...with Japan being the only one that it isn't selling well. The reason is because there is no promise of three popular franchise games. In order, I will list those games.

Microsoft Employees...pay attention:

1. Dragon Quest is the most popular game in Japan. It is so popular that there is a rule in Japan that says Dragon Quest games cannot be launched on a weekday! Although DragonQuest doesn't sell nearly as well in North America or Europe, it is by far the most popular series in Japan in terms of sales.

2. Final Fantasy is also tremendously popular in Japan. Although Final Fantasy does not sell as well as Dragon Quest in Japan, it does sell better in North America, because it is usually based on more intense 3D graphics than Dragon Quest.

3. Virtua Fighter is BY FAR the most popular 3D fighting game series in Japan. The Dead or Alive series is popular in North America, and it even has a loyal following in Japan, but Virtua Fighter is the game that you need to get to achieve success in Japan. The fact that Microsoft has allowed Sony's Playstation 3 to receive both Virtua Fighter 5 and Tekken 6 exclusively is UNFORGIVEABLE!!! Whoever allowed that to happen should be fired!!! The reason for this is because both of those games are third-party games!!! Both of those games should be released in some form for the Xbox 360!!!

If Microsoft can get Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, and Virtua Fighter from the third-parties, then they will do fine in Japan, especially when their first-party games Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey arrive in Japan.

[mike_mgoblue]

Microsoft Employees,

You need a NEW advertising agancy in Japan!!! The current Japanese ads on television show people using their Xbox 360's as drums, and the people are using their hands to clap the Xbox 360's!!! Then, all the people are dancing, and they run toward the Xbox 360...this is the stupidest videogame ad I have EVER seen!!!

Before you say, "Mike, there are cultural differences that you may not understand, so don't be so quick to criticize our advertising agency," please look at the sales figures. The Xbox 360 is selling VERY poorly in Japan!

Here is the solution:

(1) SHOW the games on television!
(2) Allow the games to be HEARD on television!
(3) SHOW the game screenshots in Famitsu and other gaming magazines...Sega didn't even bother to advertise Chromehounds in Japan, and other third party companies do the same irresponsible sort of things!
(4) The PROMISE of gaming potential is tremendously important in Japan. The Wii has a Dragon Quest game in the works, and the Playstation 3 has TWO Final Fantasy games that are being developed! Even though the Final Fantasy games won't be released until 2008, people still get excited about it, just because it will be released some day. PROMISE FOR POTENTIAL for games like Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, and Virtua Fighter is what success in Japan is all about!!!

[BIadestarX]

It is not about Microsoft or its games.
You see Microsoft is coming out with Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey and other RPGs. The problem it is with Japan; you don't believe me? Name one 1st party RPG game coming out for PS3. Just so you know there are more and will be more 1st RPG games for the 360 than the PS3. 3rd party’s developers only want to develop rpg games only for Japanese consoles; which explain why only the non-rpg games are published on the xbox 360 too. Japanese favor any japanese product over a foreign one; I understand a bit since I would do the same. This concept it is difficult to understand by Americans; since USA it is too diverse. Tell a German that German cars suck, or to a French that they can’t make sh** right. Tell a person from the Caribbean that their islands don't have good beaches. Now why should Japanese people favor an American console over their Japanese console? This is common sense so anybody saying otherwise is bull. Only Americans prefer everything non-American. Japanese developers do not want to fully support the XBox 360; take Square Soft/Square Enix; Japanese people complain that the 360 have too many shooters; what do they do? They are developing 1 title for the 360 and it is a shooter. It is almost like if they want the 360 to fail. The 360 needs Japanese 3rd party rpg games and that’s exactly what Japanese developer are not giving the 360. Japanese people don't want 1st microsoft(American) RPG games; they want 3rd party Japanese RPG games. So, I don't think is going to work for Microsoft in Japan. They should just market else where.

[The Snake]

The Japanese don't want the 360. Their loss. MS's machine could be a NASA supercomputer and the PS3anything could be a toilet paper tube with a Sony logo and both would be priced the same as they are now and the Japanese would buy Sony's product. They just plain don't like American products. MS has to pay high prices to get franchises Sony takes for granted, and the Japanese still don't care about the 360. MS should cut their losses and spend that money on something that would pay off....such as buying up a cool developer like Infinity Ward, id, Epic, or Bethesda.

[FeralPhoenix]

I could not agree with you more....I've said it before..companies like Square Enix are so closely connected to Sony they are not willing to fully support M$ at this point, however I dont think M$ should give up in Japan I think that 1st of all they should have waited to release in Japan when titles like Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey were ready as launch games....now it will be very slow even with those titles because in many Japanese gamers eyes its seen as just another American system with Americans games, which means it will take awhile before Japanese gamers will start to believe that there will be more Japanese style games offered in the future. M$ has to secure more of the big RPG's and they can't give up becuase if they want to ever surpass Sony worldwide they need at least a decent market share in Japan.

[BIadestarX]

I know you are right about " M$ has to secure more of the big RPG's and they can't give up because if they want to ever surpass Sony worldwide they need at least a decent market share in Japan", and I hope, "however I don’t think M$ should give up in Japan I think that 1st of all they should have waited to release in Japan when titles like Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey were ready as launch games" works. Though I believe that the problem is not with the people in general in Japan. It is with the developers. As long as 3rd party Japanese people continue to play dumb when it comes to developing RPG titles 360 will lag in Japan. Seriously it is an insult from Square Soft to develop a shooter for the 360 knowing that what would really help is an RPG. I would never choose Halo 3 or Gears of war over any stupid shooter IP coming from Square Soft, the same way most Japanese people wouldn't choose an RPG coming from an American company. I think what Square Soft is doing is trying to overshadow American shooters saying, “Look we can do shooters too, but you will never get an RPG from us.” If I would be Microsoft I lock in an infinite loop any Square Soft title that it’s not an RPG (Especially shooters) in the approval process.

[Say's you]

Knowing even the PS3 know's how to dominate there region 360 minus just admit its not that much of a competitor to Sony's PS3 knowing it will never win there or in any types of "Asia!" for that !matter!.