Slashdot Mirror
Slow Start For the 360 in Japan
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'. "
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.
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.
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
Check out this link to Kotaku. 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.
Comment forecast: Bits of genius surrounded by a sea of mediocrity.
There's no buzz regarding the Xbox360 here in Japan. For every weird Xbox advert which does very little to excite anyone in regards to the games available on it, there are 3 PSP TV adverts with indepth information on the games they are selling for it.
Microsoft also has to fight against the abysmal failure of the original Xbox. What started out as a pile of shelf space for the Xbox has dwindled to near zero - and now the Xbox has to wage war to get that shelf space back.
The launch titles are nothing to write home about either. Microsoft has been showing demos of "Dead and Alive 4" in Akihabara - but really only showing off the graphics - which everyone has already seen before now in the arcades, so it's not so special this time.
There are no quirky Japanese titles either, just very cookie cutter stuff. Ok, maybe there is better content on Xbox live, but how would I know? I can't see Xbox live content in the store. I can't pick it up and play with it there.
Microsoft should have increased the game lineup a bit. Even if they have to fill it out with budget, or substandard titles (e.g. Chess or Shogi that uses the full power of the Xbox360 to calculate moves), this would have helped considerably.
With the embedded PS2 fan base holding on to whatever SONY is going to offer, people are going to wait. SONY has a track record of making decent hardware. You have to admit, that with the first Xbox and even now (considering the Xbox360 glitches) Microsoft doesn't have a reputation for hardware. In fact it doesn't have a good reputation for software either, but that's for another flamefest.
The Japanese hate things that are done halfway and half efforted without attention to perfection. Microsoft is such a company. Apple, for example, isn't.
Nor is Sony's consumer devices division.
All in all, the Xbox360 is just another "me too" from MS, which doesn't really excite anyone here. Time will tell though, but for what's on the Xbox360, there are similar titles on the PS2 - and when the PS3 becomes available - and if it runs Linux, MS is in deep trouble.
READY.
PRINT ""+-0
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.
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 than in the US.