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The New Japan 360 Plan

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the not-taking-it-lying-down dept.

Gamespot lays out Microsoft's new plan for the 360 in Japan. They're not taking the initial cool reception for their console lying down. Initiatives include new games, an emphasis on the Live system, and updates on ongoing projects that appeal to Japanese gamers. From the article: "Taking time out from development work on a clutch of Xbox 360-exclusive RPGs, Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi gave a progress report on a number of projects underway at his Mistwalker development company. His first game, Blue Dragon, is on track for a 2006 release. Sakaguchi says the game is playable and his team is currently focused on game balance and presentation. Sakaguchi's second game, Lost Odyssey, is slated for a 2007 launch."

10 of 111 comments (clear)

  1. "New" Plan? by Kuukai · · Score: 4, Insightful

    How exactly is this different than their old plan? These games have been in development for a while, and they've been "planning to succeed in Japan" since Xbox 1...

    --
    Sendou Wave Kick!!
    1. Re:"New" Plan? by Perseid · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The problem is, Square and Mistwalker both make a very expensive style of game, and why would they pursue exclusives on a machine that has less units? I think Sakaguchi is taking a big risk on supporting the 360 and I don't think it's going to pay off. I don't expect to see this support from these developers for very long.

  2. consumer nationalism by vlad_petric · · Score: 1, Insightful

    The real problem with the original XBOX was very simple - Japanese consumers preferred giving their money to Japanese companies (Sony & Nintendo). I think MS is gonna have a really hard time breaking that adoption barrier in Japan.

    --

    The Raven

    1. Re:consumer nationalism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful
      I can't believe this guy is getting modded insightful.
      Japanese consumers preferred giving their money to Japanese companies (Sony & Nintendo).
      Which is why iPods are selling better in Japan over any other MP3 player, including Sony's. Or why German and French cars are very popular in Japan while American cars don't sell at all.

      If Americans gave up on their "oh, it's nationalism" excuse and actually tried to make products to fit the market instead of trying to shove it down their customers, they might actually be able to sell something.

    2. Re:consumer nationalism by wiggles · · Score: 4, Insightful
      Japanese consumers preferred giving their money to Japanese companies


      This has been proven an incorrect assumption by the success of the iPod. Japanese consumers prefer only the best whiz-bang product on the market, and by 'best', they mean 'what everyone else in Japan is buying'. In the US, Sony and Nintendo have approximately equal market share when it comes to the DS vs PSP, but in Japan it isn't even close -- DS is dominating, because 'everyone else is buying a DS'. It means that only the products that can capture the attention of the market will succeed in Japan. If Microsoft can give their console a foothold in Japan, the PS3 will never sell, just like Sony's mp3 player doesn't sell.
    3. Re:consumer nationalism by RoadDoggFL · · Score: 2, Insightful

      A console tailored to the needs of developers seems like a hell of a product to me.

      Oh yea, it was shunned before it was even released by almost every Japanese developer, thus destroying its chances there.

      --
      "This is considered plagiarism."
    4. Re:consumer nationalism by IntergalacticWalrus · · Score: 2, Insightful

      The real problem with the original XBOX was very simple - Japanese consumers preferred giving their money to Japanese companies (Sony & Nintendo). I think MS is gonna have a really hard time breaking that adoption barrier in Japan.

      That argument is bullshit. In Japan buying something foreign is some kind of status symbol. It shows you're rich and cool, or something like that.

      The real reason Microsoft constantly fails in Japan is because they don't even try to properly localize their product lineup, ie. they completely lack what Japanese gamers want.

  3. Re:360 Potential is HUGE by rAiNsT0rm · · Score: 2, Insightful

    So... lemme get this straight. You would be happy to own a $400+ box that would give you the same thing you can get with on demand/PPV/MTV/VH1? Oh, and with the ability to play the equivalent of free online flash games for $5 a pop.

    I'm honestly not trolling or flamebaiting... I just don't get it. It is kind of like the same kind of arguments for the PSP to me.

    Japan has no interest in many of the things we think are cutting edge or cool, and likewise for us, I deal with a number of people and friends over there frequently and there is hands down more discussion of Microsofts Japanese "re-launch" here in the U.S. than over there.

    Try for a minute to put this in perspective. Let's take something American... a hotdog. and a Japanese company all of a sudden wants to start selling hotdogs in the U.S. and become #1. First-off the well-entrenched brands are going to have a large advantage to begin with just from a brand recognition standpoint alone. So the Japanese company would do something special to gain popularity, and most people would just see it as a gimmick and pay no attention, a few would bite. Out of those few a majority will just go back to their usual favorite in time, and only a small fraction will stick with it. And even then there will be flops like teriaki hotdogs, or bonito hotdogs in attempts to translate local favorites abroad. It isn't some radical sense of nationalism like so many claim, it is just normal consumer behavior.

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    http://teasphere.wordpress.com - A little spot of tea
  4. Re:we can pretty much say ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful
    we can pretty much say ... that the iPod had no real competitor.


    Wrong. The Sony brand is extremely strong in Japan and they were in the portable music player business well before Apple came along. If Sony played their cards correctly Apple would have had no chance in that market. Instead Sony shot themselves in the foot and lost market share to Apple fair and square.

    given the choice of comparable products (PS2 and XBOX are clearly in the same category)


    Wrong. By the time the Xbox came out the PS2 was already well-established in Japan. So while they may be in the same category but they are not comparable. Xbox may have had superior hardware but the game lineup wasn't there, hardware was bulky and unattractive, and the original controller design was too large for the average Japanese hands. In the mind of the Japanese the Xbox was inferior and was not considered a competitor to the PS2.

    , they will pick the Japanese one.


    Wrong. The Japanese love foreign (well, western) shiny new stuff. If they were shown two shiny new things, all else being equal they would choose the American or the European one over the Japanese one. Western culture is "cool" to them, in the same way Americans find Ninjas and Samurai and Karate "cool".
  5. Isn't it kind of sad... by nmaster64 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ...that Microsoft's next-gen wonder is having to play catch-up with all the last-gen machines?

    It really doesn't matter what they do at this point, because unless they can magically convert half the country in another seven or eight months, the Revolution and PS3 are going to absolutely blow the 360 out of the country for good.

    Honestly, if the 360 can't beat the GAMECUBE, what hope does it stand against the PS3 and Revolution? Answer: None.