New Study Reveals Japanese Gamers Think very lowly of Xbox 360

A new small-scale study conducted by Macromill denotes that a huge 71 percent of those surveyed are not considering the Xbox 360 for purchase. In terms of perceptions on the Wii and PS3, it's pretty tight with only 17.4 and 18.1 percent not considering a purchase.

[Gears]

About Japan, that will not decide the winner this time around.

[darx]

Who cares about the Japanese. Enough of these Japanese comparisons.

[Anerythristic26]

It's not the major market ! Ask gamers in the U.S. , Canada , across Europe , Australia what they think of the 360 ?

[InMyOpinion]

How many people were in the survey? It's a fact that japanese people don't like anything produced outside of Japan.

[THWIP]

...that most people think Juevani is an ignorant jackass.

Seriously, what's the point of this, other than to start another flame war? This is just another bogus poll; ask the 200,000 + Japanese who ACTUALLY BOUGHT a 360 what they think of it, and Dead Rising, Blue Dragon, and Lost Planet.....and how much they're looking forward to Trusty Bell, Lost Odyssey, DOA:XBV2, Cry On, Earth Defense Force X, and others.

[power of Green]

So that's the reason the Japanese don't buy the Xbox 360, you learn something new every day lol.

Once the Japanese dev's start making EPIC and wAcKy games for the 360 this Crazzy PS3 fan will have nothing to hold on to.

[SimmoUK]

The Japenese love gadgets and they know quality when they see it...

To them Playstation has always been cool and xbox for geeks its the image and the games that they need to change...

[Boink]

cause if they think the ps3 is so cool, why are they sitting on shelves all over?

with the 360 in japan it's no surprise, with sony, it's a dissapointment.

MS has realized they need to make more rpg's with giant fallic symbols for weapons, and heros that look like teenage girls, and other crazy games for japan to take off, and they've started doing that. with blue dragon and lost planet, their sales are increasing. it will just take time to overcome the image they created with the original xbox.

[BIadestarX]

Did you say Japan? Let me see how I can say this so everyone can understand.
Ok, let's say Bin Laddin joins the game industry and makes consoles. Would you be surprised if it does not sell in the US; but sells in most of the Arab countries? Even if Japanese people act like they don't care or remember; US did nuked the crap out of them.

[Raist]

All this "japan doesn't like US products" whining is getting a bit old.

Could you please explain why the iPod is selling amazingly well in japan then ?

The first xbox provided very few games that the japanese public likes. So they never bothered buying an xbox. The 360 suffered from this reputation, and for over a year it didn't provide games that japanese players like either. Now there are some RPGs coming over, but not that much, and they came too late IMO. Just when the Wii and the PS3 were released was a late move.

[FFVIIFan]

Sony and Nintendo will make a lot of money out of that country. However, this isn't anything new or crushing for MS. They did fine with the xbox not selling in Japan, and so will the 360.

[Juevani]

hello people take it easy for gods sake, there is ''Ps3 not selling'' ''Ps3 not selling'' ''Ps3 not selling'' ''Ps3 not selling'' ''Ps3 not selling'' ''Ps3 not selling'' news everywhere on here .. its news junkys, read it and comment it with sense instead of bs, so people may learn something actually.. ''Raist'' u posted a good one and that may be the problem of ms in japan, lets not forget Japan equils nearly %50 of the gamin industry ask anybody that has been fallowing in a long time.. dont believe me check the numbers and stats. here www.vgcharts.com

[THWIP]

but it's not as important as some make it out to be.

It's just like with sports: it's important to be competitive on the road.....but you must protect your home turf at all costs. Japan is "protected" by TWO "teams"....MS can't win a 2-1 away game.

[ronscrote]

US, Europe, Australia and other developing markets like india and china which have the potential to be huge. That's where MS need to conentrate their efforts. They do not need to conquer Japan to win the console war.

[FFVIIFan]

But it is a weakness. I'll compare it to football. You can have an amazing defense and special teams, and that can win you a lot of games, but a poor offense will give you problems. MS did fine without the Japanese market, but it is a chink in their armor that Sony and Nintendo will exploit by selling mass amounts of games for that market and make them money. So it doesn't matter to MS in the sense that they are losing money, but it matters to MS in the sense that its competition being Sony and Nintendo are making money with an audience that they are not. And MS does realize this as they are trying to release more games directed towards that region like Blue Dragon for example. It may take a while, but MS can win over that audience if it continues to release games that they want. If that ever happens, Sony and Nintendo will have lost one of its major assests. MS fans shouldn't be saying Japan doesn't matter, but rather they should be saying "lets get Japan and seal the deal."

[THWIP]

MS knows this, to a degree...which is why they've been agressively launching the 360 in all those territories.....and many others.....since day 1. Sony is content to focus on Japan/US/Europe(eventually), which will hurt them this time around.

[kewlkat007]

where is the new and fresh news? I could care less about japan. Japan is not why I play videogames, and after all I personally think, the 360 does not need japan to survive.

Well it needs japan to literally crush sony's dwindling market share. Right in it's own back yard.

But stay tuned....Ok I'm off this "dead" bait.

[headblackman]

japan only matters cause it' a market and all money should me wanted and accepted :) but as for winning this console war this time around, no japan's not necessary, cause from what i can see and many of you guys can see everythings going in microsfts favor from the games to the online support, extra peripheral, and much more. and i dont see it slowing down anytime soon. what do the other companies have? sony blue ray and thats it. nintendo a controller and a new way to play your video games and a very low cost. so all in a nutshell microsft wins this one hands down then comes nintendo. nintendo is the only competition for microsoft and thats only in terms of innovation but thats were it stops

[Microsoft Master]

Juevani is a prat

[power of Green]

Because it's a Sofware complex product and music divices are not part of their Nations Image, they have more arcades in Japan that the U.S. has Mc Donalds lol J/K but it's crazzy.

[power of Green]

So many Developers emerging from all over the world if Japan doesn't learn to appeal to the West and the rest of the world their finished, that's why you see the smart Dev's Developing games with both styles in mind, speaking of smart Devs the 12th is almost here!.

[Dusk]

is about half of Europe's. Europe's, in turn, is not even a third of N. America's. Overall, capturing the Japanese market is not even remotely necessary for becoming the console with the most worldwide market share. However, there are quite a few Japanese developers. Only recently have Japanese developers started focusing more on the worldwide market. If a Japanese developer only focuses on Japan, then this developer will most likely not develop for a console that sells poorly in Japan (ie. the 360 so far).

Tides are turning, however, and there are Japanese developers, like Capcom, that are developing games specifically for other gaming cultures.

As for the largest market share, Japan doesn't really matter all that much, especially with growing markets threatening to surpass Japan as the third largest console video game market. Basically at this point, if one console were to build a strong lead in both Europe and N. America, that console would lead worldwide, at least until some of the smaller markets grow enough in size to be more influencial in the numbers.

[darx]

Can't wait for the 12th!

[tackleb0x]

Lucky for Microsoft and 360 owners Japan's impact on gaming has been passed by Europe. And with countries like India and Brazil's economies allowing for more and more people that can afford video games and the increasing popularity of consoles in Australia. I dont see Japan making or breaking a console ever again.

[Raist]

Music devices are not part of their nation's image ?
I guess you forgot the walkman heh.

Japan has the lead when it comes to electronics stuff. They got things that we see coming like 2 years after. So i'm not really convinced that they don't have very competitive products for the iPod, maybe even before it was out. They just simply like it, just as they like many things from the western culture.
MS's console aren't very appreciated in japan, because of games, i'm pretty sure about that.

[pshizle]

PLAN AND SIMPLE

THEY GOT SOME GOOD JAP GAMES OVER THERE

IPOD SUCKS I HAVE A ZUNE

NO ITS NOT ABOUT THE GAMES ITS BECAUSE WE HAD NUKED THE FCK OUT OF THEM

[power of Green]

I did forget about the walkman, that doesn't help you.

In my post #6 i did bring up the common sense you've just posted.

Maybe the Japanese will come out with their version of Vista, Ipod and Zune feature's and services. lol lol lol

Let the Japanese make the toasters tv's and DVD players leave the complex services and software to others.

[FKN Unbelievable]

They keep letting this @sshoile post Flame Bait but when Real news Come about it gets no love. New Study Reveal sony Ps3 is Dead.

[Raist]

#22 i'd like to know where you got that numbers from. You guys don't seem to be aware of the video games market in japan. It's behind europe and US, but it's not THAT far away. Only 1/6 of the NA market ? c'mon.

http://www.parisdeveloppeme...
Scroll down to see a global market comparison graphic.

#27 Yeah, japanese companies doo not make software. So what's the point ? We're speaking about gaming consoles here. That's hardware. And the iPod is a hardware device too. If the answer to the question "why isn't the 360 selling in japan" was this US product hating stupid stuff, they wouldn't buy iPod's or other western products. But they do, actually. So this point is irrelevant.

[HaKeRsCanRotINHEL]

must go to the far reaches of the Internet universe to find this garbage.

[HaKeRsCanRotINHEL]

Reveals Many Gamers Think Very LOWLY Of Juevani!

[bighed03]

WHO CARES.
unless you have stock in microsoft, or there's some fear that the 360's future looks bleak, i wouldn't bother my time with this crap. MS already have a good install base which is already a gurantee for fantastic games in the future... and likewise with Sony. Competition is good people, why does no one see that? Let MS, Sony, and Nintendo duke it out and try to make us want to buy their stuff... i mean honestly, does everyone want just one company to control console gaming? what good would that do?

[ironwolf]

will help it sell better in Japan than the first XBox did. However, one of the biggest selling genres on the PlayStations has been the Japanese soft porn (and sometimes hard porn) "dating games". I don't see microsoft approving any such games even in Japan, because it would leave them open to charges of illegal production of pornography and child pornography in this country. All they would have to do is approve one of these Japanese "games", and microsoft requires all games be approved for it's consoles.

[Genki]

I live in Japan, and let me be the first one to tell you that they emulate American culture quite liberally. They listen to hip-hop, reggae, dress in a somewhat similar fashion, even get the same tattoos, they like McDonald's, hang out at Starbucks, etc.

You do realize that those bombings were over half a century ago...right? The individuals who do hold something against Americans still are the older generation, as the younger generation really doesn't care all that much. They're actually quite friendly, and many have an affinity for foreigners. You'd be surprised at how many stores sell American goods/fashions like hot commodities.

Simply put, thinking the SOLE reason that XBox products don't sell as hoped in Japan is racism is just foolhardy. Personally, I think it's just something unfamiliar that does not yet appeal to them, and that's not a very difficult concept to understand. Why do you let it upset you so much, anyway? You have your XBox, so be happy. It's got the lion's share of the market regardless, what's one region to YOU personally?

[TheBeginningOfTheEnd]

i think Juevani's avatar is actually a pic of his boyfriend getttin butt raped by him. nasty

[JasonPC360PS3Wii]

Like American anything, still p!ssed about WWII. I know my Grandperants still are.

[MicroGamer]

The Japanese are probably the most xenophobic people in the world. This is no surprise to anyone. If Americans were like the Japanese, their whole economy would go belly up because they wouldn't be able to sell anything here. They need us to keep buying their products a heck of a lot more than we need them to buy ours.

[Raist]

What a nice bunch of xenophobic comments.
Would be like saying all americans are racists because of segregation and KKK. You know, FIFTY years ago...

[Genki]

they won't listen to another opinion, let alone common sense and logic. I would repeat myself, but the text is there for all to see, in black and white, so there's no point anyway.

All I can say to those who prefer a state of denial over reality, is just open your mind. There's a whole world out there that you'll never learn anything about with closed-minded attitudes.

[JasonPC360PS3Wii]

Fifty years may not seem so important to you but it sure does to the people still living. Think we can tell African Americans to just forget about segregation and the fact they couldn’t vote, think they should forget Rodny King I don’t think so. These things are still fresh because the people who lived in these times are still alive. You think elderly Japanese citizens can easily forget Hiroshima or Nagasaki (Hell No) now these things are down right horrible but there facts of life. Now the Americans and Japanese may be allies now, but we were bitter enemies 60+ years ago (THOSE PEOPLE STILL LIVE) How can we dishonor there memories buy saying forget it? Think the Jews like Germans ask a survivor some time? This world is not nicey nice and if you think this world is all flowers and cake you ether live in a hippy commune, take lots of drugs or your twelve.

[rowdy 1]

Its all about the games. They have a different game feddish.