Why Won't Japanese Gamers Buy The Xbox 360?

NickyFinn - 240 days 22 hours ago

true

Agree(1) | Disagree(2) | Report | Reply

NeloRisi - 240 days 21 hours ago

I know, my PS2 bricked 25 days after I bought it on launch. But the errors were with first production units and within the first year, the error was fixed... even then, the errors werent dominant to begin with.

The 360 is just... damn man. 30% failure rate and even now people are getting RRoD. The console launched in 2005.
I know, Microsoft are really pushing the console, hell, its dirt cheap here in Europe and I find the games appealing - I'm still not gonna buy it until I know I wont get a RRoD.

Agree(4) | Disagree(2) | Report | Reply

PirateThom - 240 days 21 hours ago

"I have a PS3."

Hilarious, but not very good reason.

I guess it's like anything, some places just aren't interested in certain products.

Agree(1) | Disagree(0) | Report | Reply

kewlkat007 - 240 days 21 hours ago

Where console have been bread and gaming characters created that have deemed to save gaming at one point or another.

Every major successful console that have sold very well, have come from there. With over 30 years of Nintendo and Sony and SEGA, once a force, as well, it's going to be tough for an American made console to succeed. So many have tried in the way in beginning but have never made it.

Think about this for a second: More people outside Japan play Japanese games, then people in Japan playing western games. So the Japanese are very sensitive to their culture and style, "when it comes to video games".

**Original Xbox**
+Built Solid
+Solid Online

-Not much Japanese support
-Too Big
-Strong home-grown Brand names (Nintendo/Sony)

**Xbox 360**
+Solid Online
+Plenty Japanese Support(thx to MS pockets)
+Smaller than Original
+Economy on it's side(Market-price)
+Weakened Sony(Expensive console)

-Rejuvinated Nintendo
-Faulty Build Quality(Early revisions)

You know, looking at the numbers, the consoles are not selling like home grown counterparts. Yeah the 360 did better than Original but something is not right. I could easily say OK maybe it's the faulty builds but PS2 had all kinds of problems and went on to sell millions over time.

I think, Sony and Nintendo are just VERY STRONG BRAND NAMES at home. But eventually, it will be about the games. That's why MS pays so much to get games on there or JRPG's. I don't think some understand Ms mountain over there in Japan. Of course, it starts with a Quality built Console, then the games, always. It's been a while since we have had 3 consoles in the biz competing like this. Is there really room for 3?(sometimes literally in Japan). Something tells me NO but elsewhere and in younger market's YES.

Agree(3) | Disagree(3) | Report | Reply

350ZRunner - 240 days 21 hours ago

You can make all the excuses you want as to why the 360 doesn't take off in Japan but the fact of the matter is that the primary reason it doesn't take off is due to Japanese xenophobia. As long as the 360 is seen as a 'foreign' console, it's never going to take off.

Agree(5) | Disagree(5) | Report | Reply

cyrus228 - 240 days 21 hours ago

they dont wanna buy 4-5 360's cuz they break to much.

Agree(6) | Disagree(3) | Report | Reply

djpolofish - 240 days 20 hours ago

Hmm lets think

Negative Points:

Poor disk size
33% failure rate (that’s 3 in 10!!!)
limiting the size of multi platform games
Scratches games
Microsoft charges for repairing there faults
Xbox live fee
Poor sound
Brought no advancements in gaming this gen
No Blu-ray
no wireless controllers as standard
no wifi as standard
no Bluetooth
future exclusive line up is poor
cant compete with the PS3's exclusive graphics
it smells
it keeps falling over when i try to keep my door open with it.
They love new technology, the 360 uses old

Plus Points:
Makes a nice pattern on my toast

Agree(10) | Disagree(3) | Report | Reply

XPC HARDonE - 240 days 20 hours ago

Sony is a home grown company and nationalism and xenophobia are as much a part of their culture as tentacle porn and vermilion pleasure night.

Also playing the 360 means that they would have to play with douches who rant, rave, talk smack, and act like they have tourettes. Like the people on this forum.

Why wont American gamers stop writing and responding to BS articles on crappy websites that do nothing to further gaming but only make it seem like a haven for childish sociopaths.

Vermilion Pleasure Night is a great japanese show, find it on netflix and netflix watch now.

Agree(3) | Disagree(6) | Report | Reply

Rowland - 240 days 20 hours ago

BECAUSE THEY ARE CASUAL GAMERS !

Agree(2) | Disagree(3) | Report | Reply

very normal guy - 240 days 18 hours ago

halo , gear of war,fable and left 4 dead =nothing for peoples of japan folklore,gt5,ff13,disgaea,mgs4

Agree(3) | Disagree(0) | Report | Reply

very normal guy - 240 days 18 hours ago

But did square will not give up one day and making exclusivity ps3 after all those deceptions like poor sales of xbox360 and the games like disgaea sell more on ps3 compare to last remnant on xbox 360.Sorry for my so disgusting langage and grammar im a french canadian lol.

Agree(1) | Disagree(0) | Report | Reply

titntin - 240 days 17 hours ago

Whilst xenophobia is a convenient and often used excuse, it doesn't fully bear the weight of scrutiny. Apple products sell well - with huge rises in Japanese sales reported for 2008.

My own two cents:

Hardware failures are a sure fire turn off in Japan, which has a culture of producing high quality products. Japanese consumers place even more emphasis on this sort of issue than their western counterparts.

The machine itself is very bulky and loud, which is more of an issue in Japan where the average room sizes are extremely small compared with the US for instance.

Though the line up now is varied and vast, the machine has a reputation as the platform for FPS games, a genre which simply is not as popular in Japan as in the US.

The PSP is HUGE in Japan. The integration and feature set of PSP to PS3 connectivity and content is something no one else can offer.

The controller is large. They actually made smaller controllers for the Japanese market for the last xbox, but not this one.

Japanese consumers tend to keep their machines for quite a long time (witness the still huge sales for certain PS2 core titles). Given the way MS dropped support for xbox1, this will be a worry for many gamers in that market.

I actually think MS have given it a good go in Japan this generation, and there's no doubt that they have secured some titles for the region that have really lifted sales. But for all the above reasons, the machine is simply not as exciting a prospect in that market as the other HD alternative, and the sales simply reflect that.

Agree(2) | Disagree(3) | Report | Reply

cgoodno - 240 days 17 hours ago

Nothing else to say. Technology from the U.S. isn't really trusted, which is why they take our innovations and remake them, usually at a higher quality, themselves.

Agree(2) | Disagree(4) | Report | Reply

CDzNutts - 240 days 17 hours ago

Multi-Plats aside, the majority of 360 exclusive games are shooters. The majority PS3 exclusive games are a variety. People like variety.....except for us Americans. We just like to shoot.

We can make hardware comparisons all we want, but no matter how you slice and dice it, the PS3 simply has more variety.

Agree(2) | Disagree(1) | Report | Reply

very normal guy - 240 days 17 hours ago

They like fantasy not soothing game. That all.They are not xenophobic, if they are, american too, because of the bad sale of ps3 in america lol.

Agree(1) | Disagree(0) | Report | Reply

dash-- - 240 days 17 hours ago

You can't say its because it doesn't have jrpg because they have the most out right now. So i'm going to go with their not interested in poorly built technology. Plus Japan is very tech savvy and disc trays are a thing of the past.

Agree(2) | Disagree(0) | Report | Reply

JJFNIGHTS80 - 240 days 15 hours ago

I'll say it again and before. Japanese Gammers cares about QUALITY hardware console, not about the price. The Longer the console lifespan last the better the games can go with it. M$ just rush out thier systems a year of ahead of everyone else so they can put thier billions of dollars in front of SONY so they can kick SONY OUT OF THE GAMING BUSINESS. It's been what 4 or 6 years since the Xbox360 came out, and still M$ haven't redesign thier Xbox360 with their still RROD hardware failure, sratch disc. My ps2 only time it didn't work when it says DISC READS ERROR, if everyone remember when SONY use to have game disc that was all blue. It only took SONY like 4 or 5 years to redesign thier PS3 fat console to the SLIM PS2 design and I have the fat console sice day of release since 01' i think when it launch. Then after my second repair, I trade it in for the Slim PS2, now i pass the slim ps2 to my li'l bro so he can enjoy the games their. Now I still have the original PS3 60GB version, and going on its 3rd lifespan, now I'm counting down to 10years. I don't think M$ will not fix or redesign thier Xbox360, they only fix thier stupid Processor.

Agree(1) | Disagree(1) | Report | Reply

ForROME - 240 days 11 hours ago

BUll, Japan has adopted anything stylish and solid , iphone, ipod things of magnitude that are known for reliability

PS2 had issues, true, how long did they last? Not to mention from 2000?

The 360 doesnt even put a piece of rubber to keep games from vibrating that was implemented in most CD roms in 1994.

So who are kidding, XBOX was a tank but to big for them, 360 although smaller has an AC brick on the side and is built like junk, its not to hard to figure this one out.

Agree(2) | Disagree(2) | Report | Reply

Obama - 240 days 11 hours ago

I think 360 fans should stop comparing the failure rate of the ps2 to that of the 360. First, the 360 has a much higher failure rate, and second, Sony fixed the problems of the ps3 at an early cycle.

Agree(1) | Disagree(2) | Report | Reply

skottey - 240 days 8 hours ago

It is totally obvious that it is national pride. Microsoft is an American company and Sony is a Japanese company. They are supporting a domestic video game system. Just like the "Made in America" stuff that is pushed upon us here in the US. But I'll bet the Japanese have a higher level of national pride than we do here with a country so divided all the time.

I cannot stand the current president and you couldn't stand my guy during the last 8 years. We are constantly divided in the USA.

If you take two equal products, I will typically buy American even if the price is slightly higher. But if a foreign product is in my opinion, better, I will buy it. I own both the PS3 and 360. I like the 360 better and play it more. Not because it is American, but because I think it is better.

Agree(2) | Disagree(0) | Report | Reply

djroberts - 240 days 8 hours ago

Because the average IQ of the Japanese is just high enough for them to understand the 360 is a lot of hype.

Kidding... I own one but really, if they haven't bought one by now, why would they? It's not likely the 360 has been doing amazing things lately.

Agree(0) | Disagree(0) | Report | Reply

kickaski - 240 days 8 hours ago

Microsoft's marketing and platform management skills in japan are worthless. look at the commercials, look at the aesthetics of the console. it's easy to understand why someone over there wouldn't care for it.
(but It's a little better now and the weekly sales show the result of that.)

Agree(0) | Disagree(1) | Report | Reply

The_Zeitgeist - 240 days 8 hours ago

The real bottom line is that Xbox 360 is just more of a Western Console. Sony and Nintendo will always do well because they understand different cultures. It just seems like Microsoft wants to shove shooters down peoples throats and the Japanese just won't buy it. Look at the small success that MS had with the release of Lost Odyssey and Star Ocean. If they want to do well in Japan they need to keep titles like those flowing through Japan. I don't understand why they just don't start buying up more Japan exclusive franchises. They proved it works.

Agree(0) | Disagree(0) | Report | Reply

Bathyj - 240 days 7 hours ago

Isn't it obvious? God, face it, the hardware is rubbish. Japanese wont ever buy that in big numbers.

And dont buy that xenaphobia crap, they embrace plenty of western things. The west just cant make a console as good as theres, but they stil buy western games when it appeals to their tastes, so what does that tell you?

The real question should be why does America continue buying something technically inferior, not on a content or artist level, thats subjective, but certainly from a technical and reliability point of view. Who are the real xenaphobiest here?

Agree(2) | Disagree(1) | Report | Reply