GameCube Outsells PlayStation 2 In Japan

Thanks to Gamesindustry.biz for their article discussing the latest Japanese console hardware sales, in which it's revealed that the GameCube marginally outsold the PlayStation 2 this week, by 35,600 units to 35,300 units, largely "thanks to the release of Namco's RPG Tales of Symphonia", whose success we mentioned a couple of days back. Unfortunately, the third major console fared less well: "The picture was a little less bright for the Xbox, which slipped behind the PSone in the rankings again - selling 650 units to the PSone's 960. In market share terms, it was only one tenth of a percentage point ahead of Bandai's SwanCrystal. Ouch."

Comments

Response to marketing tactics?

[the Man in Black]

Normally I would applaud any failure on Microsoft's part, but in this case I see it more as a Japanese backlash to and American company attempting to gain a foothold in the historically closed Japanese market. Anyone versed in the auto industries similar attempts over the years will understand where I'm coming from.

"Buy American" is just a slogan here in the States, whereas the Japanese consumer is much more likely to support the home team, especially in something like consumer electronics. Is this a good/bad thing? Doesn't make a difference, and it's their choiice what they buy and don't buy. I'm just saying this to say that maybe we should pay more attention to sales data here in this country as an idea of how popular the Xbox is.

Re:Response to marketing tactics?

[Dot.Com.CEO]

Insightful???? Yes, that's right, the XBOX's failure in Japan is not because it is too expensive, not because its games are not appealing to the Japanese people, not even because there is no strong third party Japanese software. Not even because it is so HUGE that it doesn't fit in the average Japanese appartment.

Of all this you chose a nationalistic non-explanation that bears very little relation to the reality of Japanese people. It is not market protectionism that doomed the XBOX in Japan, it is shit marketing.

Re:Response to marketing tactics?

[vitaflo]

Normally I would applaud any failure on Microsoft's part, but in this case I see it more as a Japanese backlash to and American company attempting to gain a foothold in the historically closed Japanese market.

I don't think it helped that Microsoft's code name for the Xbox was "Project Midway", taking a cue from the Battle of Midway in WWII which ultimately let to the Japanese surrender (in this case, Nintendo and Sony). Pretty tasteless if you ask me.

But hey, MS made the thing as big as a battleship, perhaps it was meant to sink.

Re:Response to marketing tactics?

[vitaflo]

Sorry it's not a troll, it's truth. Read the book "Opening the Xbox". It states in there plain as day that MS wanted the codename to remain secret for fear of the Japanese finding out and hurting their feelings.

There's also an article on Salon talking about the book, and this very thing.

I'd so some research next time before labeling people as trolls.

Re:Response to marketing tactics?

[unclethursday]

Personally, I thinkg Microsoft shouldn't worry about how their doing in Japan. What's important is how they do in the global market. Even tough they're not even close to third in Japan, what's important is that they're number two in the world. Not too bad for a company's first console.

The actual numbers don't back you up here. The GameCube is ahead, worldwide, but not by a whole hell of a lot.

Microsoft has a little over 1.2 million lead in America, a few hundred thousand unit lead in Europe, and over 500k lead in Australia....so we'll say 2 million unit lead over the GameCube everywhere but Japan.

The Cube has over a 2.5 million unit lead over the Xbox in Japan.

That puts the Cube around maybe 500k units ahead, worldwide. Like I said, it's not much, but the Xbox isn't in second place right now.

Thursdae

Also the GameCube player

[Mr. Darl McBride]

Not mentioned in the article, but also significant for these numbers, was that this is the second week where the GameCube player is being included for free with all new GameCubes sold in Japan.

A similar bundle has been available in the US for a couple months now, but they held off on introducing this in Japan, presumably because they didn't have as much inventory to liquidate.

GameCube production has been stopped a while as warehouses were already full of the units. Rumor on the game boards is that if the volume keeps up at these levels, production will start up again before Christmas, and we'll see a few new GameCube colors AND TEXTURES! I don't know if it's speculation or more, but the models are rumored to include a black case with glow-in-the-dark green details and a limited edition brushed aluminum model, either tied to some contest or sold at a premium price.

Re:Also the GameCube player

[Mr. Darl McBride]

My bad, I'm a bit of a mormon. s/GameBoy player/GameCube player/ -- the attachment which goes underneath the GameCube and accepts GameBoy cartridges.

Incidentally, the GameBoy backup carts work just fine with these. You can probably fit 8 of your favorite GameBoy titles on a Flash2Advance 256 and justify the GameCube/GameBoy Player purchase there alone. If you loved old 2D cart games and would love a break from gratuitous 3D usage, then you know you want to.