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'. "

Comments

Want to know why?

[Anonymous Coward]

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?

[non0score]

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.

Perhaps it's partially...

[TriezGamer]

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

[MBCook]

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

[Is0m0rph]

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

[RoadDoggFL]

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

[rtechie]

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.

Re:Great Stocking Decisions, Guys

[smaffei]

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.

They should have changed the name

[Kuukai]

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.

PROOF

[MBCook]

HA. I found PROOF!

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.

General lack of interest

[Neo-Rio-101]

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.