Japan: X360 outsold by...GCN.

[Bounty]

IGN

September 8, 2006 - Microsoft may have a hit on its hands with Xbox 360 in America, but the same cannot be said of the console's presence in Japan. Not only did the next-generation system debut in the Land of the Rising Sun to less than spectacular numbers, but overseas gamers have -- despite Microsoft's best efforts - continued to shy away from the system in 2006.

In fact, an analysis of the Japanese videogame hardware sell-through up until the end of August, 2006, courtesy Enterbrain's F-ism marketing data service, shows that Microsoft's console has been outsold by Nintendo GameCube of all systems.

Microsoft has sold 75,837 Xbox 360 units in Japan in 2006 so far, according to Enterbrain's data. Nintendo, meanwhile, has sold 77,124 GameCubes during the same period.

It's a close race and Microsoft is gaining steam. During the last several weeks, Xbox 360 has outsold GameCube by as many as 200 or 300 units per week in Japan, narrowing the sales gap. And yes, we're having difficulty not laughing as we write this stuff.

The best-selling home console in Japan for the year is the PlayStation 2 with 1,061,563 units moved. However, the big winner is the Nintendo DS, which has sold through 5,208,404 units in 2006 alone. By comparison, Sony's PSP has moved just 1,332,773 units.

Microsoft has made attempts to appease the Japanese gamer, enlisting the aid of top local developers, which may be why the console is enjoying a very slight, but nevertheless increasing lead of month-to-month sales over GameCube. Of course, this lead may also have more to do with the fact that the Big N has all but abandoned its current generation console in the homeland, choosing instead to focus on DS and its upcoming Wii system.

We'll monitor the situation for any late-breaking improvements, but for now it is unlikely that Xbox 360 will give either Wii or PlayStation 3 a run for their money when the systems debut in Japan this holiday.

That's just bizarre. I thought MS was doing better...

[Chris OFarrell]

Really when you look at X-Box and X=Box 360 sales across the rest of the world, Japan shows up as a huge outlier.

Personaly I think it's mostly the gajian stigma on the console rather then it being too expensive or not having games people want. Loyalty (to anything) in Japan I hear is more of a religion then anything else over there.

[Archaic`]

Having lived in Japan, and knowing many a good number of Japanese gamers....I can tell you it's certainly not a gaijin stigma here. Hell, by rights, just for being foreign, it could and should easily be considered "hip" and "cool" by the target demographics. This is the same Japan that is hooked on learning English, and loves to insert random English phrases into their lives whenever possible, remember. And let's not forget the success of iPod in the Japanese market either.

Nor for that matter is it a price stigma. It's actually sold at a fairly decent price there from all accounts, and the Japanese are certainly willing to pay top yen for sophisticated electronics.

The problem is, and has always been for X-Box in Japan, that it simply doesn't have the kind of games that Japanese consumers are looking for.

[Mobius]

The problem is, and has always been for X-Box in Japan, that it simply doesn't have the kind of games that Japanese consumers are looking for.

For the moment....tri-Ace is planning to do some stuff on the 360 as Mistwalker and others

[Cao Cao]

Yeah basically the 360 has mindless shooters, mindless slash-hackers, mindless sports games and Oblivion. And anybody who wants Oblivion would do better investing in a decent PC given that the vanilla game is.. well.. crap.

When the 360 starts getting a bigger collection of RPGs and the like, it's sales in Japan will increase.

[Sharp-kun]

Banpresto are doing a Super Robot Wars game for the 360. This would probably have helped a lot... if it wasn't a meh port of the Gamecube SRW.

[Spanky The Dolphin]

When the 360 starts getting a bigger collection of RPGs and the like, it's sales in Japan will increase.

I think you mean more accurately "if," since I don't see that realistically happening at all.

[Ace Pace]

When the 360 starts getting a bigger collection of RPGs and the like, it's sales in Japan will increase.

I think you mean more accurately "if," since I don't see that realistically happening at all.

Maas Effect?

I think Cao Cao means more Japanese RPGs, AKA an RPG on rails.

[Admiral Valdemar]

I don't blame the Japanese here, the Xbox has never appealed to me or my brother, but having said that, the PS3 is going the same route with the price and, oh yeah, Sony giving Europe the shaft.

Ninty are probably the only ones I'd go with, and having got a DS Lite off them this summer, they've yet to disappoint.

[Spanky The Dolphin]

When the 360 starts getting a bigger collection of RPGs and the like, it's sales in Japan will increase.

I think you mean more accurately "if," since I don't see that realistically happening at all.

Maas Effect?

I think Cao Cao means more Japanese RPGs, AKA an RPG on rails.

Japanese RPGs is also exactly what I was refering to.

[Ace Pace]

I think you mean more accurately "if," since I don't see that realistically happening at all.

Maas Effect?

I think Cao Cao means more Japanese RPGs, AKA an RPG on rails.

Japanese RPGs is also exactly what I was refering to.

Ah, I thought you meant something more similar to a real RPG.

[Edward Yee]

If the Xbox 360 doesn't have the games Japanese want, well... same reason I'm not going to buy any next-gen system til it's "this gen."

[Spanky The Dolphin]

Maas Effect?

I think Cao Cao means more Japanese RPGs, AKA an RPG on rails.

Japanese RPGs is also exactly what I was refering to.

Ah, I thought you meant something more similar to a real RPG.

Whatever. The point is that the 360 simply doesn't offer the types of games that Japanese gamers play, so it doesn't get sales.

[Mobius]

When the 360 starts getting a bigger collection of RPGs and the like, it's sales in Japan will increase.

I think you mean more accurately "if," since I don't see that realistically happening at all.

Lost Odyssey (by a transfuge team from SE)

Infinitie Discovery (by the makers of star Ocean and Valkirye Profile)

i think that they may help the success of 360 in japan...

[Spanky The Dolphin]

Two games? Yeah right.

There would have to be a viable number of titles, not simply a handful, and not just RPGs, but also games that are in the various other genres that are distinct to the Japanese Gaming market. I don't see that happening.

[Mobius]

well there is a gundam game on the way, Capcom is supporting the console with title like Dead Rising or Lost Planet, SE is making a Sylpheed
Senko nô Ronde got out on 360, that would have been completely unthinkable on the first box
Compared to the situation on the first Microsoft's console, that like ten times better.

[Nephtys]

Last I checked, the Japanese loved fighting games (DOA4), flailing kill-three-thousand-enemies-at-once games (360 Dynasty Warriors: More of the Same, and 99 Nights), and somewhat realistic racing thingies (I'm fairly sure they've got one of those).

It strikes me as a 'not invented here' complex, particularly since the 360's doing quite well everywhere else. People always go 'the Japanese like XYZ games!' which is true in some cases, but there's a ton of stuff they overlook. The Japanese like mindless repetitive action games as much as anyone else.

Oh, and they love games where people stand still, step forward to take a swing at an enemy, then walk back to where they were... and admittedly there's none of those yet.

[Cao Cao]

Infinitie Discovery (by the makers of star Ocean and Valkirye Profile)

i think that they may help the success of 360 in japan...

Psh, like anyone can trust the people who murdered the Star Ocean series with the stupidest RPG storyline there ever was.

Last I checked, the Japanese loved fighting games (DOA4), flailing kill-three-thousand-enemies-at-once games (360 Dynasty Warriors: More of the Same, and 99 Nights), and somewhat realistic racing thingies (I'm fairly sure they've got one of those).

It strikes me as a 'not invented here' complex, particularly since the 360's doing quite well everywhere else. People always go 'the Japanese like XYZ games!' which is true in some cases, but there's a ton of stuff they overlook. The Japanese like mindless repetitive action games as much as anyone else.

Perhaps. But those are ten-a-penny on any system. There's little reason to invest in a 360 when a GCN and a PS2 has a metric-ton of those kind of games available.
Besides, if DOA were popular because of the fighting then DOA Extreme Beach Volleyball would not exist.

Also, the 360 has a distinct lack of train simulator and horse race betting games which are all the rage in Japan for some bizarre reason.

[Mobius]

Psh, like anyone can trust the people who murdered the Star Ocean series with the stupidest RPG storyline there ever was. Razz

Wait?
you expect good storyline in a J-RPG? did you stop praticing them at Vagrant Story

[Cao Cao]

Psh, like anyone can trust the people who murdered the Star Ocean series with the stupidest RPG storyline there ever was. Razz

Wait?
you expect good storyline in a J-RPG? did you stop praticing them at Vagrant Story

Well, Star Ocean: The Second Story had a good story. Even if the main character was a whiny fuckwit. But then, that's standard in J-RPGs.
But Star Ocean: Till the End of Time.. yeesh.. I suppose it was such a let down because the Star Trek parody universe they created was actually pretty good. And I loved the ship designs. But they wasted all that on a silly, silly story. It also took away or simplified several features I loved from the previous Star Oceans such as item creation. For shame Tri-Ace!

You broke my heart Fre.. uh.. Tri-Ace.. you broke my heart.

That said, the intro was nice. It's the opening credits Enterprise wishes it had.

[Archaic`]

Most sales of the X-Box360 in Japan can be directly attributed at this point to DOA4. The failure of that game to be a launch title in Japan, as originally promised, was a punishing blow for the system. To the point where you had popular fan creators publishing doujinshi of themselves raping DOA characters, who were constantly apologising for not having been on time (I wish I was making this up.).

[Nephtys]

Most sales of the X-Box360 in Japan can be directly attributed at this point to DOA4. The failure of that game to be a launch title in Japan, as originally promised, was a punishing blow for the system. To the point where you had popular fan creators publishing doujinshi of themselves raping DOA characters, who were constantly apologising for not having been on time (I wish I was making this up.).

Didn't that come out like... only 2 or 3 months after the system launched?

[Cao Cao]

To the point where you had popular fan creators publishing doujinshi of themselves raping DOA characters, who were constantly apologising for not having been on time (I wish I was making this up.).

[Spanky The Dolphin]

(I wish I was making this up.)

I wish you were, too.

[Ghost Rider]

Most sales of the X-Box360 in Japan can be directly attributed at this point to DOA4. The failure of that game to be a launch title in Japan, as originally promised, was a punishing blow for the system. To the point where you had popular fan creators publishing doujinshi of themselves raping DOA characters, who were constantly apologising for not having been on time (I wish I was making this up.).

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...and they call us wacky.

But onto the topic. Simply put the X-Box suffers from no one is making games the Japanese enjoy(or in reality very few are really made), thus the Japanese don't buy the system thus Microsoft barely grasps what is going on because they don't really know what the Japanese want.