Support NeoGAF

[kuncol02]

An announcement on a site of a popular Japanese retailer is to stop selling Xbox Series Consoles.



Comment also says only 1700 software sales have been on Series Consoles since launch.



Seems there is a huge supply issue in Japan at the moment.

Not to start consoles wars please, but do you think this will be a huge hit to MS's plans to hit the Japanese market a bit harder this gen?

Do I read that correctly? They have like 0.5 attach rate even on PS5? Physical is dead in Japan.

 

[MagnesG]

I do believe that though people still bought PS4 games for their PS5. There are certain JP games who did not have PS5 releases for example, hence the purchase.

 

[Robb]

Sucks for MS, my impression is that retail is still the go-to when buying stuff in Japan.

 

[SpecialAgentZ]

Isn't this store a second hand store?
Because the link says they are discontinuing PSP, GBA, GBC, PS1, PS2 and all Xboxes...

 

[Woopah]

It's a market MS had no chance. And Sony ditching it shows the 100 million people in Japan arent worth chasing after.

Their gaming tastes are so different than the rest of the world where they have pretty similar tastes, its not worth putting too much energy and money into heavy Japanese centric games unless it's something that can be popular everywhere. FF has global appeal. Resident Evil has global appeal. Street Fighter does too. Monster Hunter and Pokemon are big sellers everywhere.

But look at the Japanese game charts and there's so many weird franchises most people have never heard of before. Those kinds of games can work there and Nintendo with portable Switch.

Not sure why gaming tastes are so different. Japan seems to be it's own thing of gaming tastes and genres they like. But just about every other country or regions seem to have much broader and similar tastes in games. Ya, I know Europe is heavier into racing and FIFA and USA/Canada is heavy in NA pro sports leagues, but most other games seem similar in likeability. It doesnt matter if a franchise is made in Japan, US or Europe. If it's good it can sell. Japanese gamers do their own thing.

Is there? I know this is a popular conception but it doesn't really stand up to facts. Let's look at the Japanese game chart from last week:

1. [PS4] Lost Judgment
2. [NSW] Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot + A New Power Awakens Set
3. [PS5] Lost Judgment
4. [NSW] WarioWare: Get It Together!
5. [PS4] Tales of Arise
6. [NSW] Minecraft
7. [NSW] Ring Fit Adventure
8. [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
9. [NSW] Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
10. [NSW] Momotaro Dentetsu: Showa, Heisei, Reiwa mo Teiban!
11. [NSW] Pokemon Sword / Shield
12. [NSW] Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury
13. [NSW] Animal Crossing: New Horizons
14. [NSW] Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics
15. [NSW] Splatoon 2
16. [NSW] Super Mario Party
17. [PS4] Judgment
18. [PS5] Tales of Arise
19. [NSW] Game Builder Garage
20. [NSW] The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
21. [NSW] BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! for Nintendo Switch
22. [PS5] Death Stranding Director’s Cut
23. [NSW] Miitopia
24. [NSW] eBaseball Pro Baseball Spirits 2021: Grand Slam
25. [NSW] Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age Definitive Edition
26. [NSW] Fitness Boxing 2: Rhythm & Exercise
27. [NSW] Monster Hunter Rise
28. [NSW] Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom – Prince’s Edition
29. [NSW] New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
30. [NSW] Super Mario Maker 2

Out of 30 there's only two games that I would say fit your description, Momotaro Dentetsu and BanG Dream! Girls Band Party!. There's also eBaseball Pro Baseball Spirits but as you say its usual for different regions to have different sports preferences. The vast majority of games on that list also sell decent numbers outside Japan too so I think its wrong to say "there's so many weird franchises".

Japan likes portables, but I believe most of them see no reason to buy a Deck when there's the Switch with tons of Nintendo exclusives.

I believe the Deck will attract the Vita audience, which was mainly interested in visual novels.

Vita audience has mostly moved to Switch by now. Steam deck could still become a success in Japan with more and more Japanese developers supporting PC

I'm not sure why we discuss Japan anymore. They don't really matter anymore as this is a global industry now and they do and play what they like.

Even with a global market its still interesting to discuss individual countries

Do I read that correctly? They have like 0.5 attach rate even on PS5? Physical is dead in Japan.

Its mostly been the PS5 line up in its first year that has been an issue, but its got better recently with Tales and Lost Judgement. Once we start getting more games releasing on PS5 that will help too (a lot of Japanese developers are sticking with PS4 for now).

 

[NahaNago]

This will further damage the xbox brand in Japan since folk won't be seeing/reminded of the xbox in these stores every time they visit one of those stores.

 

[Lognor]

Lol at all the people claiming XBOX is selling very good in Japan and stating the amazon sales charts. I said a while already XBOX is selling well here, because the majority of the consoles are shipped to China, so scalpers will buy the stock and we have specialized shops here, where you can sell it for a profit and they will sell to China.

The software sells are proof that most of the consoles don't stay in Japan.

Same for ps5 too. They're being shipped out of country.

But yeah Japan is Nintendo land now. And that's okay. Sony and Microsoft can do well outside the country

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Is there? I know this is a popular conception but it doesn't really stand up to facts. Let's look at the Japanese game chart from last week:

1. [PS4] Lost Judgment
2. [NSW] Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot + A New Power Awakens Set
3. [PS5] Lost Judgment
4. [NSW] WarioWare: Get It Together!
5. [PS4] Tales of Arise
6. [NSW] Minecraft
7. [NSW] Ring Fit Adventure
8. [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
9. [NSW] Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
10. [NSW] Momotaro Dentetsu: Showa, Heisei, Reiwa mo Teiban!
11. [NSW] Pokemon Sword / Shield
12. [NSW] Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury
13. [NSW] Animal Crossing: New Horizons
14. [NSW] Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics
15. [NSW] Splatoon 2
16. [NSW] Super Mario Party
17. [PS4] Judgment
18. [PS5] Tales of Arise
19. [NSW] Game Builder Garage
20. [NSW] The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
21. [NSW] BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! for Nintendo Switch
22. [PS5] Death Stranding Director’s Cut
23. [NSW] Miitopia
24. [NSW] eBaseball Pro Baseball Spirits 2021: Grand Slam
25. [NSW] Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age Definitive Edition
26. [NSW] Fitness Boxing 2: Rhythm & Exercise
27. [NSW] Monster Hunter Rise
28. [NSW] Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom – Prince’s Edition
29. [NSW] New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe
30. [NSW] Super Mario Maker 2

Out of 30 there's only two games that I would say fit your description, Momotaro Dentetsu and BanG Dream! Girls Band Party!. There's also eBaseball Pro Baseball Spirits but as you say its usual for different regions to have different sports preferences. The vast majority of games on that list also sell decent numbers outside Japan too so I think its wrong to say "there's so many weird franchises".

Vita audience has mostly moved to Switch by now. Steam deck could still become a success in Japan with more and more Japanese developers supporting PC

Even with a global market its still interesting to discuss individual countries

Its mostly been the PS5 line up in its first year that has been an issue, but its got better recently with Tales and Lost Judgement. Once we start getting more games releasing on PS5 that will help too (a lot of Japanese developers are sticking with PS4 for now).

Good point. But Nintendo games seem to have global appeal. If this was years back before Switch took over Japan, it would be a lot of obscure franchises on PS gamers around the world never played or know about.

Sony's budgets are now in high production value westernized games. These will never sell great there.

 

[GHG]

Possibly.

But it sure seems other countries and regions in the world are more willing to adapt to other brands. As long as it's a decent product at a decent price, it can be a winner. And for gaming, the rest of the world seems open to all kinds of games, game franchises and genres no matter where it's made. Japan not so much.

Skimming your article, there are some nuances that make sense for logistical reasons. Trying to sell a Japanese homeowner a king sized bed with matching giant night stand, dresser, and armoire isn't going to fly. Just like selling a giant US pick up truck with the steering wheel on the other side of it wont either.

Many of the issues seem to be more of an attitude/expectations issue vs. solely product issues.

For example the part where it said Japanese people like to buy stuff and put as little effort into building it, which Ikea is all about for half their stuff. Other people in other countries have no issue with this from the start.

It's always easier to say something makes sense in hindsight but the reality is that most companies struggle with adapting their products for certain regions/countries while keeping their core values intact. However if you can make the adaptations where necessary, take significant market share and still be profitable then you are on to a winner.

Often its the the little things/changes that make a big difference. You can't say it's an attitude/expectations issue if you are on the side of the fence that is selling a product, in such a situation you are the one asking for money. Either you make the product viable for the local audience or you pack your bags and admit defeat.

 

[El Pistolero]

Japan, as people in their thirties and fourties had known it, is over, when it comes to videogames.

 

[Airbus Jr]

Japan, as people in their thirties and fourties had known it, is over, when it comes to console videogames.

Fixed that for you

 

[smbu2000]

GEO is a second hand store lol

i go to geo all the time and i never see any xboxes in stock this is a pretty empty announcement

Well they do sell a lot of new games as well.
Anyway, I mentioned it in the Famitsu thread, but the local GEOs in my city stopped selling Xbox stuff in like 2016 or 2017 after the X1 didn’t sell well.
I’ve never seen any new Xbox stuff since then and of course no Series stuff.

Even the PS5 sections are fairly small compared to Switch and PS4.

 

[mckmas8808]

People are playing Game Pass and digital, physical is dead. Don’t think this matters much for MS as they don’t have nor really need a presence in Japan outside of securing games for their ecosystem.

LOL! This is only bad news for MS.

 

[Evil Calvin]

I admire Xbox's resilience with trying to get Japan on board but it'll likely never happen, they just don't care for the product

Because it's American made.

 

[IDKFA]

It should come as no surprise due to gamepass - why buy MS games, when you can just buy the subscription?

I'm all in with digital and Gamepass, but my friend won't touch Gamepass at all. He hates the idea of having his game library locked to a monthly subscription, which he links to renting the games.

No problem for MS as they still get his money.

Actually it's great that MS give us the option of buying their first party titles. They could lock all of their games down to Gamepass only.

 

[FStubbs]

Because it's American made.

So are iPhones and they have 42% of the market there.

 

[FrankWza]

Because it's American made.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

.

 

[El Pistolero]

Fixed that for you

As far as sale numbers are concerned, yes. But their software output has gotten way worse in terms of quality, regardless on the nature of the platforms involved.

 

[Woopah]

Good point. But Nintendo games seem to have global appeal. If this was years back before Switch took over Japan, it would be a lot of obscure franchises on PS gamers around the world never played or know about.

Sony's budgets are now in high production value westernized games. These will never sell great there.

Yes years ago that was probably the case. I think there are two factors for that:

1. Nowadays thought there are less small games released at retail (they tend to be digital releases now)
2. More games are localised now or have worldwide releases, which was not the case in the past. (to give the most obvious example of how things have changed, I remember people in Europe needing to petition Nintendo to get Animal Crossing released there.)

Yeah, I suppose the Deck would be a nice complement to the Switch, specially for those games that are only available elsewhere.
But I have a feeling it will be a niche product there.

I wish we got sales numbers for it but I doubt it (at least, not just for Japan). Would be interesting to follow its performance

 

[ResilientBanana]

An announcement on a site of a popular Japanese retailer is to stop selling Xbox Series Consoles.



Comment also says only 1700 software sales have been on Series Consoles since launch.



Seems there is a huge supply issue in Japan at the moment.

Not to start consoles wars please, but do you think this will be a huge hit to MS's plans to hit the Japanese market a bit harder this gen?

Sounds like Japan wants mobile games and not console games.

 

[LordCBH]

Xbox needs Asian Games, but to get the asian games they need to be present in asian areas. Unfortunately not many people want a Xbox, because Playstation already has everything they need...
Therefore no/less asian games.. it is a devil cycle they cannot break out at the moment...
Maybe they really need a brand like Sega to push in asian areas, but when is the next Wednesday?

They’d be better off doubling down on their actual markets.

 

[SF Kosmo]

Strange, considering Xbox Series S|X is having a much better start than Xbox One in Japan (Source: Famitsu):

Pic from this article.

This is probably less about the hardware as it is the games. Hardware holds its value but games don't, and if they're buying all these games that aren't selling, retail can end up taking losses on that shit.

 

[michaelius]

Did it ever actually outsell PS3? I feel like they never quite broke the back of the PS3 when they had all of those timed exclusives.

PS3 getting those games with extra content DID break the back of the Xbox in Japan though.

It had like 10 or 11 weeks when it was above ps3 back then

 

[Belthazar]

Strange, considering Xbox Series S|X is having a much better start than Xbox One in Japan (Source: Famitsu):

Pic from this article.

Retailers make VERY little money from the hardware... the problem is software not selling at all (which makes me wonder if most of the consoles that are being sold are even going to japanese households or just being scalped for resale elsewhere)

 

[Magnific0giganticus]

It's doing great and better than ever. Phil told me so and I stand by his word.

 

[elliot5]

Some tweet says this is referring to OG Xboxes not Xbox Series so who TF knows

 

[Kerotan]

What's an xbox.

 

[fersnake]

 

[Tschumi]

Well they do sell a lot of new games as well.
Anyway, I mentioned it in the Famitsu thread, but the local GEOs in my city stopped selling Xbox stuff in like 2016 or 2017 after the X1 didn’t sell well.
I’ve never seen any new Xbox stuff since then and of course no Series stuff.

Even the PS5 sections are fairly small compared to Switch and PS4.

Totally...There's like one x1x in display in bic camera and a RROD edition 360 in hard off in my suburb... And an og xbox one. Aren't even any games for them rofl

 

[Heisenberg007]

Because it's American made.

Umm, no. It's because of other reasons that we all know.

If it were only because Xbox was an American product, iPhones wouldn't be this popular in Japan.

"The iPhone is more popular in Japan than any other country in the world, even edging out the U.S. in terms of overall marketshare." -- Source.

 

[Roger Rabbit]

I bought my OG Xbox One from Geo, and then upgraded to an Xbox One X from Bic Camera.

Now the Geo in my town only has a couple of old second-hand games, Bic Camera doesn't have anything Xbox related, one Yamada Denki has a couple of copies of MS Flight Simulator but no hardware, and the other Yamada Denki has quite a few Xbox One games, albeit nothing recent, still at day-one prices.

 

[Kenpachii]

Retailers make VERY little money from the hardware... the problem is software not selling at all (which makes me wonder if most of the consoles that are being sold are even going to japanese households or just being scalped for resale elsewhere)

Physical doesn't sell on a platform that pushes digital as its main target? shocking face.

This whole article sounds like gamestop back 10 years ago when they where still relevant. Banking all your eggs on 1 product is a good way to destroy your business.

 

[Great Hair]

Years ago: https://gamerant.com/retailer-stops-selling-xbox-one-game-pass/

 

[reksveks]

Years ago: https://gamerant.com/retailer-stops-selling-xbox-one-game-pass/

Yeah, the platforms generally need to find a way to not piss off retail partners although if you trend DTC, they obviously become less important.

 

[yazenov]

Umm, no. It's because of other reasons that we all know.

If it were only because Xbox was an American product, iPhones wouldn't be this popular in Japan.

Yeah accusing a whole nation of xenophobia just because they don't like a product is absurd.

 

[Mr.ODST]

Yeah accusing a whole nation of xenophobia just because they don't like a product is absurd.

Its pretty common in Japan, when I visited there was multiple anti-foreigner rallys and one of my friends was refused entry in a lot of places (ones that normally let foreigners in)

 

[Zannegan]

Is this a change? At the Geo next to my apartment, and the guy behind the counter said they didn't carry them months ago. Must have been the bigger stores carrying them.

It's not like they're sitting on shelves. Only Amazon scalpers seem have them in stock.

 

[yazenov]

Its pretty common in Japan, when I visited there was multiple anti-foreigner rallys and one of my friends was refused entry in a lot of places (ones that normally let foreigners in)

That doesn't explain why other American products are very popular there in Japan.

 

[Duchess]

Its pretty common in Japan, when I visited there was multiple anti-foreigner rallys and one of my friends was refused entry in a lot of places (ones that normally let foreigners in)

Wow, really? My experience was different (5 years back). They were very welcoming and polite to all.

Then again, I was with a tour group, so it's possible that the places I visited had been chosen due to be more friendly to foreigners.

(One of the best trips I've been on - excellent and fun group of people I was with. Climbed Mt. Fuji, too. Amazing).

 

[prinz_valium]

Yeah, the platforms generally need to find a way to not piss off retail partners although if you trend DTC, they obviously become less important.

If there is high demand, the retailer will come back ans beg for stock.

Remeber when Gamestop was angry because of digital codes bundled and not disks?

 

[reksveks]

If there is high demand, the retailer will come back ans beg for stock.

Remeber when Gamestop was angry because of digital codes bundled and not disks?

I would argue that is only the case if they believe that they can monetise the footfall via other products. Not 100% sure that's the case with effectively 'digital' consoles but definitely the footfall due to xbox isn't enough to make a retailer like GEO even try to monetize it.

 

[Trogdor1123]

If there is high demand, the retailer will come back ans beg for stock.

Remeber when Gamestop was angry because of digital codes bundled and not disks?

I wish that all retailers sold digital codes the same way they sell the currency. Personally, I'd rather give a specific game than the systems generic currency. I'm aware there truly isn't much difference.

 

[Magnific0giganticus]

Japan died.

 

[lachesis]

Japan is known for strong retail sales and used market sales (due to high game prices) - so for retailer themselves, product like XSS and PS5 Digital is like shooting themselves on the foot in the long run.

Perhaps it's just sign of the days... that physical retailer is dying breed.

I'm starting to wonder - if the retail stores themselves have any voice which model of PS5 they receive to sell from Sony?

Right now, it appears that PS5 Digital vs Disc version sales is like 1:5 ratio.
If I was a retailer owner that also sells physical games that would generate more profit, I would sell Disc versions than Digital version for obvious reasons.
Perhaps they ordered PS5 Disc versions far more to Sony? Or Sony mandated them "you have to order 1 digital version for every 5 disc versions"?

Either way, I think the measurement of Xbox's success in Japan would need to be based on GamePass sub number there.
I think their pricing is cheaper than what we get in a lot of other places to boot. (I think it's like 9.8 USD for 1 month, vs 14.99 USD in U.S.)
Also digital sw sales # for PS5 games would need to be taken account to see the full picture, more than ever.

 

[Lognor]

I do believe that though people still bought PS4 games for their PS5. There are certain JP games who did not have PS5 releases for example, hence the purchase.

I think it's more likely that those PS5 consoles are being sent overseas. The demand is very strong outside of Japan so folks can make a nice profit reselling them. PS5 game sales are pathetic in Japan. It's not at the level of Xbox sales, but still pretty bad.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

That doesn't explain why other American products are very popular there in Japan.

I'm sure there's many US brands popular there. But it sure seems Japan isnt as welcoming as USA, Canada or Europe (as a whole) etc.... who seem to have no problem buying brands around the world including Japanese.

Are Korean brands like Samsung or LG big in Japan? I dont know. Korean headquarters are right beside them. Korean brands seem to do fine globally too.

 

[Fat Frog]

An announcement on a site of a popular Japanese retailer is to stop selling Xbox Series Consoles.



Comment also says only 1700 software sales have been on Series Consoles since launch.



Seems there is a huge supply issue in Japan at the moment.

Not to start consoles wars please, but do you think this will be a huge hit to MS's plans to hit the Japanese market a bit harder this gen?

Xcloud is their only hope in japan then, hu hu hu.

Xbox Cloud Gaming Launches in Australia, Brazil, Japan, and Mexico - Xbox Wire

At Xbox, our mission is simple: bring the joy and community of gaming to everyone on the planet. To achieve that, we aspire to empower everyone to play the games they want, with the people they want, anywhere they want. We are creating a future that combines the gaming heritage of Xbox and the...

news.xbox.com

Right in time...

Cloud gaming ✌

 

[PhaseJump]

What's an xbox.

An MSX from the future that apparently is suppressed by rampant xenophobia toward America, according to business expert weeaboos.

 

[Kamina]

Not to start consoles wars please, but do you think this will be a huge hit to MS's plans to hit the Japanese market a bit harder this gen?

MS planned to hit the Japanese market? I thought they were already past such foolish ideas by now.