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[GorillaJu]

As far as Japanese brand loyalty. I've seen a ton of iPhones and android phones over here. So it's starting to change for some electronics.

There isn't some brand loyalty in Japan that is special or unique to Japanese people. In America and all over the world, plenty of people have brand loyalty, simply for the reason that they like those products best.

Smart phones are newer in Japan than the US. Their phones have been vastly more powerful than ours for a long time, but the touch screen smart phone is still fresh, and Apple is raking it in with the new market. iPhones were initially "ho hum" in Japan but when they started picking up steam it picked up fast. Similar to the original reception in America, I'd say!

I maintain that a lot of things Microsoft focused on which made the X360 such a success in the western world simply do not appeal to Japanese people.

As for them ducking out of the market completely? Not a chance. They might not go headfirst into exclusives like Lost Oddysey or Star Ocean 4, but how can you ignore the third largest market in the world in a given field? Even if you only have 3-4% of it, you have to at least have one finger in the pie

 

[Combichristoffersen]

Japan is a lost cause to them, and since the Japanese home console market is dwindling anyway, they shouldn't waste time or money trying to penetrate a market that doesn't care about their offerings. Spend the money on the markets where they actually are relevant.

 

[Haunted]

Drop the Xbox and Microsoft branding and go through a Japanese company for all official representation.

Make them think it's a Japanese console, it's the only way with the Japanese gaming scene's prejudice towards western games (yo-ge kuso-ge).

 

[gaming_noob]

I'm guessing MS lost money in that market. They need the support of Japanese developers though to make their library more varied. Having said that I did not buy a single Japanese-made game this gen. It was quite different last gen where my library was probably 90% japanese.

 

[semiconscious]

I maintain that a lot of things Microsoft focused on which made the X360 such a success in the western world simply do not appeal to Japanese people...

& simply do not appeal to some western people, as well (self included). it's not complicated - people have different tastes, &, tho it might feel like it is to some, there's nothing inherently 'universally awesome' about 360-style gaming...

 

[mclem]

I wonder if Microsoft should maintain a token presence in Japan, not so much for the consumers as for the devs?

I can't help but think that a developer might think twice about working on a project that's not even going to be released in their home country. Sufficiently large moneyhats would alleviate that, of course, but I wouldn't regard it as a total irrelevance.

 

[Crub]

Kinect has been a hit in the west, but it's the complete opposite of what Japan wants.

Think it has more to do with it being an Xbox peripheral.

 

[like a dragon]

Is there even a market for 3 consoles in Japan?

I mean, Sony and Nintendo, two historic, well esteblished, and local companies are already having fierce competition by themselves in the traditional home console market, and not to mentioned the handheld market eating up most of those gaming comsumers yen.

There is little or no room at all for a lesser know console that offers little or nothing that sets it apart from the competition other than the locations is being made from.

The real question here is not whether Microsoft should try and win the japanese comsumers, but rather, is there a room for 3rd home console?

 

[PetriP-TNT]

This gen they bought all the biggest JRPGs and that didn't work... at all. I say they need a miracle in Japan in this point.

 

[like a dragon]

This gen they bought all the biggest JRPGs and that didn't work... at all. I say they need a miracle in Japan in this point.

Final Fantasy

Dragon Quest

Kingdom hearts

.

They bought the wrong exclusives.

 

[Mista Koo]

http://www.microsoft-sony.com
http://www.sony-microsoft.com

someday..this E3 might be a little interesting..

http://www.microsoftsony.com/

The plot thickens!

 

[PetriP-TNT]

Final Fantasy

Dragon Quest

Kingdom hearts

.

They bought the wrong exclusives.

They did get Final Fantasy... Monster Hunter could help but everyone knows that those "exclusives" will be ported eventually anyway

 

[erpg]

Screw Japan and expand into South America and try to get a stronger hold on Europe. Japan means nothing in terms of global sales. It's also just a backwards haven of isolationist ideas, so the cards are stacked against them.

 

[GotEmRunnin]

I doubt they'll bother with it all together next gen. One would have to wonder how much money MS would actually have had they not invested all that money in Japan to begin with.

 

[Zoe]

As far as Japanese brand loyalty. I've seen a ton of iPhones and android phones over here. So it's starting to change for some electronics.

Japan has brand loyalty to Apple. If the Xbox had been AppleBox, it would have been a huge hit.

 

[bigtroyjon]

They did get Final Fantasy

Not in Japan initially

 

[Dunlop]

I think they should just walk away , revisit if they are ever going to pump out a handheld.

 

[Nealand Liquor]

Frankly, Microsoft is always going to be super niche in the Japanese home console space. They would have to make a portable to even have a chance (unlikely even then).

If I were Microsoft, I'd simply make the next XBox region-free so it can play both US and Japanese games and just sell left-over systems from the US there. They likely won't sell more than one million total units lifetime in the region, so any units that don't sell in Japan can just be shipped to the US instead.

Pretty much what I was thinking myself. It doesn't take much to just simply sell your systems in a region as long as you aren't forced to specifically target that particular market.

In addition to the (albeit nominal) financial manufacturing benefit of the one region free product, promoting a region free product and the ability to import niche Japanese games adds another layer of features and benefits to your install base.

 

[Vane_MagicCity]

I just wanted to chime and say that the PS2 Phat was a monster and if it sold well in Japan then there is no reason to say the 360 was too big and noisy. I get that the brick is annoying but the Wii has a brick and the PS2 slim has a brick and those sell just fine over there. The PS2 Phat might have had a brick but I don't know. Granted the 360 brick is larger but if that's really a factor then why would two successful Japanese consoles have power bricks?

Looking at my Panasonic Blu-Ray player, it's not small either. Anyway, I don't know much about Japan or their reasons for not buying the 360 but I am under the impression that the whole market is shifting towards western games, sadly. I think Microsoft should maintain a presence there since Sony and Nintendo don't have a grip on western game development yet. Next gen Microsoft could be the leader in Japan just because the market moved in on top of them.

 

[theBishop]

Microsoft made a pretty gutsy push in the first 18 months. Lost Odyssey may very well be the best original JRPG this generation.

And it didn't work out.

The best hope for Xbox in Japan is that tastes shift to American development. Just like some Americans are really fanatical about Japanese culture, Microsoft should be courting the pockets of Amerophiles in Japan.

 

[plagiarize]

would the support from third parties be as good if Microsoft hadn't really tried in Japan? forget exclusives, would Square-Enix, Capcom, Konami, et al have given the 360 the kind of support it gets with multiplats?

i think taking PS exclusives away did more for them than gaining exclusives of their own. potentially losing Resident Evil, Final Fantasy, etc... isn't worth the risk i don't think. try again in japan. do a tiny bit better in japan again, but SECURE those huge multiplatform games.

 

[bigtroyjon]

would the support from third parties be as good if Microsoft hadn't really tried in Japan? forget exclusives, would Square-Enix, Capcom, Konami, et al have given the 360 the kind of support it gets with multiplats?

i think taking PS exclusives away did more for them than gaining exclusives of their own. potentially losing Resident Evil, Final Fantasy, etc... isn't worth the risk i don't think. try again in japan. do a tiny bit better in japan again, but SECURE those huge multiplatform games.

Why would those companies give up selling the millions of copies of their games in the rest of the world that sold on the 360?

At this point they need the MS western user base a lot more than MS needs them.

 

[Captain Tuttle]

One place where Microsoft should definitely invest more next generation though is Europe. That's one area where they could be doing better but Sony is outdoing them.

Absolutely. The "West" (and I mean Europe and the US) dwarfs Japan as a market. They should also push in to China and India.

 

[Karak]

Drop the Xbox and Microsoft branding and go through a Japanese company for all official representation.

Make them think it's a Japanese console, it's the only way with the Japanese gaming scene's prejudice towards western games (yo-ge kuso-ge).

I think this is a pretty good idea and mirrors my own thoughts exactly. Let a proxy company release a 360 somewhat tailored to Japanese audiences. Sort of like the ripoff systems that come out but this one would be official. No matter what I think MS should spend their time and money on the other regional audiences.

 

[Rolf NB]

Probably not, and Japanese developers seem to be trying to cater to the West anyways. They'll most likely continue to try and secure bury high profile JRPGs though.

Tada.

 

[Bomber Bob]

Why would those companies give up selling the millions of copies of their games in the rest of the world that sold on the 360?

Developing for a shadow machine not even available in japan would totally alienate japanese developer.

 

[Hcoregamer00]

Unless the next generation include portable consoles then they should not even bother with Japan. They would be better off just making games for the 3ds and ios than to release another home console there.

 

[SmokedMeat]

They're wasting their time because most Japanese gamers are biased towards Japanese company consoles, and frown on Western anything in gaming.

As long as their next system is a hit in the West, Japanese publishers won't ignore it.

 

[bigtroyjon]

Developing for a shadow machine not even available in japan would totally alienate japanese developer.

Who is going to pay that developer to make a game that will lose money because they ignored the biggest game buying user base in the biggest game buying country?

 

[Rolf NB]

Who is going to pay that developer to make a game that will lose money because they ignored the biggest game buying user base in the biggest game buying country?

Faith much?
Current install base of Microsoft's next console:
JPN | 0
EU | 0
US | 0

 

[H_Prestige]

Developing for a shadow machine not even available in japan would totally alienate japanese developer.

360 might as well not be available in Japan as it is. Yet it still gets most japanese games that are on ps3.

 

[CrunchinJelly]

Attach a screen to it and sell it as a handheld.

A very big handheld.

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

At this point they need the MS western user base a lot more than MS needs them.

That's been the case up until now somewhat, but with new Japanese HD platforms launching, I don't think this is something Microsoft should take for granted. Wii U and/or Vita could easily squeeze out 360 for JP multiplats if they provide a eecent enough base outside Japan. I also think Microsoft is going to have to do some heavy pushing again with Loop upfront to keep JP publishers on board after letting 360 languish the past 3 years.

 

[Daschysta]

It's futile. The Wii-U is made to dominate Japan from a console perspective. The entire hybrid idea with the tablet is pretty much tailor made for small Japanese apartments where there may be only one or two televisions, thus a premium on the tablet function.

Plus with a next gen system they will likely get tons of huge Japanese games from 3rd parties, as well as their dominate first party lineup.

Overseas it will be an interesting fight, but nintendo seems to have Japan locked up, both in the portable sphere and imo on the console front once the Wii-U comes out.

 

[djtiesto]

Hopefully they won't even bother... would make one less system I'd have to buy. Honestly, the only reason I really bought a 360 was for Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey (and of course Vesperia)... thinking MS would continue moneyhatting Mistwalker. When that didn't happen, and they focused more and more on Kinect, that's when my system started to collect dust, apart from the indie games/multiplat fighters.

Though speaking of indie games, XBLIG has a surprising amount of Japanese content on it - from really polished and excellent retro games (Tempura of the Dead, Protect Me Knight), to kusoge shooters (BIOEROSION), to loli dating sims and puzzlers (Moe Mekuri) and more...

I think Japanese consumers are going to move away from traditional Japanese games eventually.

Why would you even think this? That makes no sense.

 

[BocoDragon]

It will be interesting to see what happens.

If the next Xbox lacks a focus on Japan, I see it losing any and all Japanese exclusive titles.

If it lacks exclusive Japanese titles, I won't be motivated to buy it.

Im sure I'm a minority.. But I'm not alone. I'd just buy a PS4/Wii U, as they will have all the Japanese multi-platform titles, plus exclusives. Microsoft would be saying good bye to a certain type of consumer. While a minority... We could have a subtle influence, if it swings the perception that PS4 (or whatever) is the "go to" console to get everything you need, aside from Halo/Gears.

 

[Alphahawk]

They should do what Sega did in Brazil, sell the distribution rights to another company. I think Ms's big concern this go round was that Japanese developers would abandon the platform if they didn't have some presence there, and while there is still some concern of that, the fact that many multiplatform games are released only on PS3 over there kinda dispells that myth.

 

[djtiesto]

It will be interesting to see what happens.

If the next Xbox lacks a focus on Japan, I see it losing any and all Japanese exclusive titles.

If it lacks exclusive Japanese titles, I won't be motivated to buy it.

Im sure I'm a minority.. But I'm not alone. I'd just buy a PS4/Wii U, as they will have all the Japanese multi-platform titles, plus exclusives. Microsoft would be saying good bye to a certain type of consumer. While a minority... We could have a subtle influence, if it swings the perception that PS4 (or whatever) is the "go to" console to get everything you need, aside from Halo/Gears.

Yup, and what happens if people start getting FPS fatigue next gen? This + losing Japanese support would mean MS would be mostly screwed unless Kinect continues taking off in a big way.

 

[alphaNoid]

Giving up on Japan means abandoning Japanese developers and thats not something MS is going to do. Next gen they will likely further push into the market and try to penetrate as much as they can.

 

[Shining Sunshine]

Think it has more to do with it being an Xbox peripheral.

I bet it's probably because the Kinect doesn't work in almost all of Japanese homes as they are all small.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

They should not even try anymore... Maybe if Sony and Nintendo miraculously disappeared, they would have a chance... but with both of them still THERE... nooo way...

Did the Xbox360 even beat the PS2 this gen?

Remember, after X360 launched PS2 still had a year as king of home before PS3 and Wii hit.

 

[Terrell]

The problem I see with some suggestions that MS stay in Japan is that we're working under the premise of another generation of multi-platform releasing, and we don't know if that will be the case. We could walk into this coming generation where a hardware platform is so dominant that the exclusive returns to the play field.

 

[sonicmj1]

Microsoft can't dominate Japan unless they're willing to compromise a lot, and I don't think they are. Especially if they double down on the Kinect, which doesn't really work for a lot of Japanese living spaces.

But if they don't have some kind of presence in Japan, they'll lose dev support that they need. So I think they still have to make a token effort.

I think they can still survive in a way if they can hold the weird niche market that they somehow wound up with this generation.

 

[Torraz]

I hope they don't buy out exlusives (again).

 

[HocusPocus]

I wouldn't even launch in that market. They CAN'T win there, or even be respectable with sales no matter what they do. They need to move the Asian market to China or Korea as the focus. They might have a chance there if they partner up with the right developers. Blizzard would be a natural target for Korea.

 

[Hiltz]

Microsoft's wasting its time.

Japan lifetime hardware sales in 2010

Xbox 360: 1.2 million units
PS3: 5 million units
Wii: 10 million units

Japan lifetime hardware sales in 2011

Xbox 360: 1.5 million units
PS3: 7.6 million units
Wii: 12 million units


2011 hardware sales:

Xbox 360: 115,548
PS3: 1,548,895
Wii: 883,586
PS2: 78,015

For the record, lifetime sales of GameCube are 4 million units in Japan and the original Xbox with 2 million.

 

[Terrell]

I wouldn't even launch in that market. They CAN'T win there, or even be respectable with sales no matter what they do. They need to move the Asian market to China or Korea as the focus. They might have a chance there if they partner up with the right developers. Blizzard would be a natural target for Korea.

Someone already beat them to Korea. And somehow, I doubt offering experiences they've already been enjoying via PC and are content to keep enjoying on a PC is the way to win that country.

 

[Patryn]

I agree with those saying that they should still release in Japan, but treat it as a lesser market, then focus on the US and Europe.

They need a Japanese presence, if only to help push Japanese devs to make XBox versions of their multiplatform games.

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

and the original Xbox with 2 million.

Xbox sold around 500k in Japan total. 360's basically tripled it.

 

[Nealand Liquor]

I find this so offensive, and such an American thing to say.
Its like saying that Hollywood has such a particular output that every other studio and non-american creative outside it should just give up immediately.

I can see that; However one has to recognize where statements like come from. When I see statements like those I believe it's nothing more than blacklash born out of a feeling of being discriminated, or ignored by the Japanese consumer due to the products national origin. Whether or not these feeling are warranted, justified or simply immature, I do believe they are only expressed because of Japan's nationalistic attitude. It's as if those who write those opinions are just saying "You don't like my stuff huh? Well you suck, so there!"