Nintendo up, but Microsoft down in Japan

This is my take on this.

I have a 360, I love it. Yeah, it's made by Microsoft and not a 'traditional Japanese' company. But so what? I play my DS, I play my Gamecube and I play my PS2 (sometimes) too. For the most part, us 'Westerners' appreciate what the 'East' offers us in electronic/digital entertainment and embrace it sincerity (sp). I don't know exactly what it is about our 'American Console' and why they can not reciprocate the love, but the more I hear and read about this 'trend' in Japan, the more annoyed and slightly resentful I become. I know we as an industrialized nation give up alot to appease our Eastern counterparts in trade commerce in general, but this is just ridiculous. What more do they want? Why not share with us why they like to treat a 'Western Console' with such disdain and disrespect? I know we're not perfect by any means, but if it's not going to work over there this time, I think Microsoft should just close shop and cater to those of us who appreciate what Microsoft is offering and let the Japanese live in there electronic/digital isolationistic state. I'll still get my Nintendo Revo and if not bankrupt by the time the PS3 comes out, get that as well. It just bothers my conscious knowing that I'm supporting companies from the East side and they can't even reciprocate the same.



Sorry, this whole way things are going with 'our stuff' over there just troubles the mind...

The numbers in that table can't be software numbers - there's no GBA SP or GBA Micro software, just GBA. That's gotta be hardware sales.

The problem is that the Xbox 360 doesn't offer anything original. Japanese games thinks things through more logically than American gamers and aren't as easily swayed by clever marketing campaigns.



Microsoft has always been lacking in innovation. Everything they ever do is a cheap rip off of what somebody else already thought of. From ripping off the mouse from Apple to MSN Messenger. Quit getting dooped and start saving for the Nintendo Revolution.

"I don't know exactly what it is about our 'American Console' and why they can not reciprocate the love, but the more I hear and read about this 'trend' in Japan, the more annoyed and slightly resentful I become."



In case you haven't noticed...they tend to like different genres then westerners. Just b/c they didn't like say CoD2 or Perfect Dark Zero as much as westerners, doesn't mean anything personal.



If Microsoft had actually done their homework...they would have realized that by now.



I'm not flaming btw...it's called common sense.

Considering Dead or Alive 4 was not ready yet, AND the major titles under development from Japanese publishers are still at least a year away, the amount of consoles sold in a market where the Xbox is unliked, the showing was quite respectable. You try selling a console with titles that don't appeal to you and see how many you sell.



Revisit the market after Dead or Alive is released or any of the major Japanese games and see how the 360 is doing. One thing is certain, the Xbox has an uphill battle making any ground in the Japanese market.

Eh, the Japanese have traditionally been disdainful of the savages outside their borders. They actually got guns in the 16th century, you know, but got rid of them and legislated them away.



Incidentally, a lot of the idiosyncrasies of Japanese RPGs make a lot more sense knowing this.

cyberclaws:



you can't blame eastern cultures for not liking something. there are weird trends and gadgets that come out in Japan that no one in the western world would really have any interest in at all. you can't expect them to lay down so much money on a product they don't care for, just because it would "show support"



sales of the Xbox aren't shitty because the Japanese are trying to spite America.. it's just a culture difference.

Why isn't the xbox 360 selling well in Japan? It's simple, really. There are no supercute, fuzzy, day-glo animated creatures on the side of the box. Also, not having a single exclamation point anywhere in the packaging or on the product will invariably translate to sagging sales in the Japanese market.

Microsoft, in addition to other American compaines always have a hard time in japan. I remember when Saturn made a big deal of selling cars to Japan. I think US can do better than a saturn. Japan matters right now but not for long. There is a country out there that can squash Japan in spending on electronics and consumer goods. That country is China. China loves US goods and blocks Japanies products (like Japan blocks US) and I see Microsoft becoming a big player in their market while Sony, Nintendo will have little to no market share.



Just the facts

Japan loves to sell to US / Hates to buy from US

China loves to make goods/ Hates to buy from Japan / Loves to buy from US

Case in point Boeing is set to make a major deal with A China Air line

Yup, you've got a point there, R2P2. Let me see if the numbers add up now...

japanese ethnocentric purchasing practices are deplorable. imagine the US acting like this towards japanese products... they'd throw a hissyfit.

I *finally* played the 360 at Future Shop the other day. It was the demo of that chameleon game, and I have to say *extremely* disappointing. The graphics looked like your average PC game. I have the original XBOX (chose it over PS2 for the graphics), and I barely play it. I really hope Nintendo comes through with new innovative gameplay. Graphics or not, these 1st player shooter games are really getting really old.

"Why isn't the xbox 360 selling well in Japan? It's simple, really. There are no supercute, fuzzy, day-glo animated creatures on the side of the box. Also, not having a single exclamation point anywhere in the packaging or on the product will invariably translate to sagging sales in the Japanese market."



Wow...if that isn't the dumbest thing I've heard all day I dunno what is.



Even if you were joking...a game doesn't need to be ultra-realistic, bloody and gory in order to be good. In fact of the best selling and most original games of all time are the exact opposite of that.



I swear...some people think that if someone is insulting their favorite game/console, they are personally attacking them.

hey they tried...now i think its time to focus on the places that actually WANT the console and let japan play thier bus driver simulators and pokemon 145 firestar edition DX..

uhm halo 2 and gta san andreas were just EXACTLY blood n guts. another thing about japanese gamers loving innovation, all gamers love innovation ,but i dunno how many of you keep up with jpn gaming trends. a real popular genre is these anime adventures which all play EXACTLY the same. And these console rpgs are just clones of one another. if you look closely, you can see american games have been getting higher scores as of late.

Yeah, if Blue Dragon or whatever that RPG from the maker of the original FF, then you can continue spitting your jingoists rants.

If you are from US, let's do a little game:



1. Suppose PS3 is going to launch next week in US.

2. Suppose you own every Madden and Need for Speed game ever made.

3. Suppose for you EA is the biggest innovative company ever founded.

4. Now, suppose PS3 launching titles are two brain games, a puzzle, a FIFA game, and a fighting game.

5. Suppose the newer version of Madden is going to be released for Xbox on the following week.

5. Finally, suppose PS3 is compatible with only 10 PS2 titles.



Would you buy a PS3 with all those restrictions? Now, let me tell you what the japanese think: "No". Japanese got titles they don't like, the titles they expected have been delayed, the compatibility list is not at all the same one as in US, and PS2 is getting new versions of extremely popular franchises in Japan.



While it is true a japanese would prefer a japanese company because the company understand him, there is one thing clear: Sony is a much better console maker than Microsoft. It gets the better franchises, it gets the better games, etc



Being "cool" isn't as important in Japan as it is in US.

The comment about Japanese gamers being more discerning and prefering variety in games couldn't be more wrong. It might seem that way from an outsiders perspective, but most popular games there are based on a popular winning formula. If it were not so, you wouldn't so easily be able to pick out a japanese game with just a glance. I'm not even saying that's a bad thing; I like Japanese games as much as the next guy. I just don't like hearing ethnic cheerleading. I say, we have our style and they have theirs. They've been selling to use longer so they naturally have an advantage that will be hard for MS to overcome. If they can't do that, I suspect Japan and the west will favor two different consoles.

"a real popular genre is these anime adventures which all play EXACTLY the same"



...and a popular genre with the western audience are those GTA-clones with the blood n guts that pretty much play EXACTLY the same.



Just b/c a different country has a different taste in games doesn't mean it's bad. Every country is gonna have some off the wall games that might not push the envelope but are still fun.



Some of those "anime adventures" I might add are just as popular in western states btw...

By the way, this last week Nintendo DS sold _408,770_ units. That is a pretty impressive number. Historically, the week from 19-25 is the strongest one in Japan, so don't be surprised if DS breaks the 500k mark (on launch week they sold around 450k, if I recall correctly).



In the last four weeks, DS sold over a million units:



11/21 - 11/27: 132,012

11/28 - 12/04: 176,958

12/05 - 12/11: 299,328

12/12 - 12/18: 408,770



Animal Crossing: Wild World is a game seller, something Xbox 360 completely lacks at this moment:



11/21 - 11/27: 325,466

11/28 - 12/04: 130,000

12/05 - 12/11: 121,000

12/12 - 12/18: 183,699



I repeat, being "cool" in US is important: if you don't own an Xbox 360, an iPod, a PSP and HDTV, you are nothing. In Japan, people prefer an old console with a new game than a new console with old games. This is something someone "cool" cannot understand, so don't try.

"I repeat, being "cool" in US is important: if you don't own an Xbox 360, an iPod, a PSP and HDTV, you are nothing."



...which is pretty pathetic too.

If Japan hates western goods so much, would anyone care to explain how the Apple iPod is destroying the MD industry there? Apple has been very successful in Japan, and the reasons are obvious.

The simple fact is that there are NO good games for the Xbox 360 available(in Japan). Ok, so the japanese like Ridge Racer, but most of them already have it on the PSP. Plus everyone in the US just loves Madden, while the rest of the world does not give a shit about basketball or football.



We have to wait and see how games like DOA 4 and the many Japanese rpg's do on the market. If they fail, then the 360 is doomed in Japan.

Who said Japan hated all US products? I spent 9 days in Japan in the Summer of 2004 and they in no way hate american products.



Like someone said before...there are Japanese products that sell well in Japan but don't in the US or Europe.

Damn I dont care about Japan anymore. Ive read this story a 100 times. Please a new topic.

1) The Xbox 360 is not that great. Tell me, really, how much better would you say Perfect Dark Zero is than F.E.A.R.? How much better is DOA4 than... oh wait. The Xbox 360 has ZERO innovation going for it. It is a console with update graphics. Whoopee. Welcome to every month of the PC world.



2) Japan does not care that it is an American product. Japan gobbles up American Hollywood culture like every other Asian country in the world. What Japan cares about is that the Xbox 360, get this, does not have any games that they like. Blow your mind yet? A culture with different tastes from ours? Blasphemous.



3) Japan is a small country and hence they have small living quarters. They can not afford a power supply that takes up 1/8th of their home. That is all.

Innovation is in the hands and with the creativity of the developers.



The 360 has quite a few nice features that other consoles don't have.



one of the cool things about it that is nice (if you've got it, which is what M$ is shooting for) is the Media center OS. Who needs a HD drive that isn't available anywhere now when you can stream HD content to your 360 from your media center PC. I'm no windows fan, but I think this is a smart thing on their part.



I don't know who they "ripped" that idea from, but it's a good one, and it's implemented... now.

I don't know how some readers came to the conclusion that I was implying any type of 'coolness' or any 'hate' whatsover. I was simply stating, as a rule of thumb, as much as we embrace ideas and products from the East, we don't seem to get any reciprocation across the board. I never made a claim to be a 'fanboy', I already mentioned that I have and try to get all the platforms I can. I was basically just trying to say our relationship with the East (Japan) seems to be a one-way romance. I think the only 'popular' gaming machine I do not particulary care for is the PSP, but then even saying that is like flame-bait I guess. I just wish they could have like an 'open' or 'public' forum where we could listen to them and find out exactly what they would like to see in ANY of our products just so the public in general can be assured that it's 'not personal' as someone pointed out earlier.



thanks

"From ripping off the mouse from Apple"



Right after Apple ripped off the Mouse from Xerox you mean?

It's pathetic as with us, Americans, it's always the others who are at fault.



"They don't love us. It's not fair."



You can't always blame others for your own stupidity.

I have to agree reybrujo Microsofts problem isn't that japanese gamers hate american companies (at least not directly) Microsoft doesn't develop the games that japanese want to play.



Every single game system released in japan in the last 20 years has like 30 mahjong games. Nobody plays majong in america but if they didn't sell in japan there wouldn't be 30 of them.



Japanese also like their "social simulator" games which are just anime getting naked with a simple menu system bolted for the sake of gameplay. It would bore you and me to death but in a japanese gaming shop every system will likely have an entire shelf set aside just for those games, except the xbox.



The japanese gaming market is very different nintendo has entire franchises that sell out in japan but america would never buy. Earthbound and (until recently) fire emblem being the most famous.

Until the playstation jazzed up the graphics final fantasy was in the same niche.



Also anyone else surprised that the DS is outselling the psp by more than 4-1 in japan? Also have you noticed that half the stores in america are out of stock on the DS? I learned this first hand in the last week. And don't even hope to get animal crossing DS.

There really wasn't anything about the Xbox 360 launch that appealed to the Japanese, especially when the PS3 is (possibly) less than six months away. People generally only buy Xmas presents for kids here, so the DS is understandably the biggest seller.



Are the Japanese racist for not buying Western products? Well, Apple's iPod has a 60% share of the music player market in Japan, and the luxury goods market is dominated by Western companies. So no, there's not really much evidence to support that one.



If Microsoft manage to get some decent games out before the PS3 launch is confirmed, then they might have more success. I doubt it though.

Perhaps Japan is rejecting Microsoft's console because it mainly provides American-style games?



The ideal game to the typical American is a street racing game with a mounted gun on the hood. There are giant t!tt!es all over the road, and you shoot them with your big, phallic gun so that blood splatters all over the place.. all while running-over a few elderly pedestrians and streetwalkers.



'murikans love guns, boobs, street racin', and blood. Japanese, in contrast, do not. They're not worried about penis size, and thus they don't overcompensate with these pseudo-mature things.

Is it any wonder that MS can't sell consoles in Japan? I mean, the most hyped game for xbox360 has been COD2 whether it was released in Japan or not. I mean its a game about a war that ended with them getting the atom bomb! I'm sorry but if the most hyped launch title on PS3 is a game where you get to be an al'queda operative attacking the US, I probably wont buy a PS3 whether they launch that game in the US or not. By overhyping COD2 as the TRUE next gen gaming experience, thats essentially what MS is doing.

"Why not share with us why they like to treat a 'Western Console' with such disdain and disrespect?"



Why should they have to spend money for something that they don't want and don't need? You're merely attributing that the reason for them not buying it as being cultural and hating US products. I live in Tokyo, and in case you don't know, the iPod happens to be the biggest seller for music players here, and that's by Apple. The simple reason for the poor performance is that there are NO system sellers for the XBox or XBox 360 here. FPS like Halo is only truly popular in the US. Outside of the US, it is not the same. Where are the big RPGs? Where are the great platformers? There are none on the XBox 360 and there is no compelling reason to get either. If you keep asking people here "why don't you want to buy it?", I'd reverse the question and ask you "Why the heck do you want to buy it?". Rushing to buy a half-baked product with half-baked game launches is just a plain waste of money.

Congratulations Nintendo on surpassing 10 million units worldwide... Nintendo was at 8.8 million sometime in November (units sold), so last week's and this week's sales should bring the DS over the 10 million mark if you include the US, Europe, Canada, and Australia. They may even be closing in on 11 million.



This is in stark contrast to Sony which has just SHIPPED 10 million PSP's, and is struggling to sell them. Sony does not report units sold to customers, only to retailers. Beating Sony out by more than 4:1 in Japan is impressive. The fact that the old Gameboy Advance SP is outselling the PSP 2:1 IN THE US is even more amazing. (The DS is also outselling the PSP in the US, but by a lesser margin than in Japan.)



This bodes well for the Revolution. Every happy DS customer is a potential PS3 defector. In the end, innovation will win, and Sony's PS3 seems better equipped to compete with Xbox 360 than Nintendo machines. They may just have their eye on the wrong box... Especially with the GameCube Zelda title being released next year confirmed to have Revolution specific features and Nintendo titles like Mario Kart "growing up" with online play.

Note that this means the Nintendo DS alone is outselling the Xbox and Xbox 360 combined by 42.1 to 1 in Japan...



The Japanese market as a whole is outsellign the Xbox and Xbox 360 combined by 69.4 to 1, i.e, for every 70.4 consoles of any kind sold in Japan, 1 is by Microsoft, and it is the week after launch.



In still other words, it will take 69.4 weeks for Microsoft to sell as many consoles as its competitors did this week. Homefully Dead on Arrival 4 will not live up to its name, for William Gates' sake.

Jed Merrill.. are you mildly retarded? what the hell does that comment have to do with ANYTHING that ANYONE here is talking about??



not to mention the fact that units shipped translates to units sold (because units shipped is based on demand.. just try going to gamestop and picking up a PSP without a waiting period for a shipment) and if you think that it's just sony that reports units sold you're fucking stupid. that's what EVERY company reports. after they sell untis to retailers, any further sales are out of their hands.

ok screw this whole "cool" mentality arugment..its just stupid and totally opioinated with no facts wat so ever...they're gamers just like us who want good games just like us...it jsut so happens that the games they prefer arent out for the 360 which in turn makes it rather useless for them at this point...simple as that..if the system wud have launched with DOA and blue dragon etc etc the outcome wud be different...but it didnt..and its a FACT the japanese prefer their own products as opposed to foreign goods..especially US electronics..so this news is no shock...

I can't even belive how racist some of these comments are. If a Japanese systems lanched in the US with only 6 launch titles and they were all anime RPGs, would you buy it? Of course not. But that must be because you are resentful about Pearl Harbor? Is that the logic you are trying to use?



Grow up.



Sony makes Mp3 players. Apple owns the market in Japan with the iPod.

Kirin, suntory, asahi and others make Cola. The Japanese buy Coke.

Starbucks beat out all the japanese brands.

American movies make much more than domestic.

American music is not fart behind Japanese music in sales while Japnese music doesn't sell AT ALL in America.



Should we all buy Japanese music? Why don't we? Is it because we are nationalists?



Or is it just not something we like due to our culture?



But go on, don't let me stop you. Blame it on the consumer. The company can't be at fault. It is obviously the Japanese people who know it is a better product but don't buy it out of spite.



And you Americans who play Playstation. How dare you! Buy American. We'll show those bastards.



:: Puts hand over hear and weeps looking at his Xbox ::



:: turns Xbox over ::



:: Notices it's made in China ::

The average Japanese gamer likes a game with a decent story that leads you through the levels. They don't like the type of game where the user has most of the control, like GTA for example. They like the RPGs and fighting games because they are somewhat automated. In GTA you are dropped into a massive 3D world where you have to go to a pink circle on the map and once you're there you just have to wait and see what happens. But I'm sure that once DOA4 is released, sales in the 360 will jump.

One game won't save a system tho...

I don't understand this sudden animosity towards Japan just because they didn't buy the 360 in droves. Suddenly it's all "they didn't buy it coz they hate US products" and other comments, some bordering on racism. Anyone who knows anything about Japanese culture will know they love US products (e.g. clothes and the iPod) as much their own. So what if they don't like the 360? Get over it. I doubt Japanese gamers lost any sleep when the Sega Saturn bombed in the US.

This is to reply to post #9



Xbox 360 will not sell in china for the following reasons.



For the price of a xbox 360 premium + (400 usd) = 3200 RMB, you can get 2 modded ps2s and 50 games to boot. I live in shanghai and it's probably has the highest paying level in terms of salary, for average white-collar worker working for forign company, i think it's average salary is around 9000 RMB a month, there is no way in hell anyone would spend 1/3 of salary before tax on a game system...



The people in China doesn't hate japanese product either, if you watch the tv here, there is 24/7 cartoon channel full of japanese anime shows and tons of anime magzine/manga in the mainstream. Walk into any cd/dvd shop you will see seperate section dedicated to japan/korea drama as well as music cds and they seems to sell pretty well.



Also your info about china buy boeing doesn't really help either since they are also schedule to order huge fleet of Airbus as well.

"I mean, the most hyped game for xbox360 has been COD2 whether it was released in Japan or not. I mean its a game about a war that ended with them getting the atom bomb!"

Ah, wonderful. If Joystiq accepted signatures, I would use this one.



"Should we all buy Japanese music? Why don't we? Is it because we are nationalists?"

May I suggest Do As Infinity (even though they disbanded last September), Every Little Thing if you like pop, and Penicillin if you like rock?

if you don't own an Xbox 360, an iPod, a PSP and HDTV, you are nothing



---



Pull your fuckin head out of your ass. This drama queen cynical bullshit doesn't apply to the real world. How shallow can you be? My iPod does not affect anyone but me: from the time i get on the subway, to the time I get home. No one compliments me on my white earbuds.. i got it for the music. Anyone who thinks otherwise is mentally challenged.

"My iPod does not affect anyone but me: from the time i get on the subway, to the time I get home. No one compliments me on my white earbuds.. i got it for the music. Anyone who thinks otherwise is mentally challenged."



I appreciate the strong sentiments, mike, but can we tone down the rhetoric a bit? For everyone else, if it's difficult to tell whether your latest comment's overly passionate or not, let's try to administer this simple test: would you readily say the same things in the presence of new guests at your home... for a warm holiday get-together? If not, please take a time-out and consider what effect your words might have (on a community where body language and other non-verbal cues can't be observed) before you confirm that e-mail. Not to worry, mike, my comments here also apply to the guy who made the remark about being "nothing," but I humbly ask that we keep our cultural analyses civil.

Alot of you are saying the Japanese hate US goods, but that is entirely incorrect. For instance, the iPod and McDonalds are extremely popular over there.

Vinnk:



Great post dude, someone had to say it as forcefully as you did. Anyone who thinks the Japanese don't buy US products is *at best* uninformed, more than likely xenophobic themselves, and if they have this opinion of the Japanese as rabid nationalists then they are also quite possibly a racist.



The Japanese are probably the LEAST nationalistic, LEAST "patriotic" people on Earth. You don't see people driving around there with bumper stickers saying "Japan: Love it or Leave it!" They are way more willing to embrace foreign products than we are. They were the first Asian country to *purposely* westernize their economy and political structure (in the 1800's, even before WWII). Since WWII, they have almost entirely westernized - their fashions, their music, their consumer products, their TV shows and films are either actually made in the west or inspired by western designs.



Why do you people think anyone in this country even cares about them? China has more than a billion people; it's a far larger potential market. Why isn't anyone grousing about MS's lack of a Chinese launch, or why the Chinese aren't interested in the Xbox 360?



It's *because* we know that the Japanese are so close to us in so many ways, whereas other Asian countries are so much more foreign. Except for the language barrier, there is no more real difference between people living in New York and Tokyo than there is between people living in New York and Dallas (in fact there is probably less!).



But those basic regional differences mean that products still have to be tailored to the market. MS gave Japanese gamers nothing to be interested in, and they still gave them a poorly designed console. Honestly, just painting a console white does not make it fashionable in Japan. Just involving a Japanese design team when they're working from a flawed MS design brief doesn't help either. It's a stupid looking console with a huge power brick in an extremely fashion-conscious country where even most laptops still have internal power supplies.



But the biggest issue is obviously the games. If they'd released that game lineup in *any* country, the system would have bombed. Sure, we like FPS's more than they do so the inclusion of PD0 would have made that lineup more acceptable here, but it was still a paltry few games with hardly anything that was actually appealing.



And MS is still trying to get over their "kusoge" reputation from the original Xbox. I don't know why anyone would expect them to be able to undo four years of ineptitude in two weeks, and certainly not with this launch.

Microsoft knew the number of Japanese launch titles would be small. They should have focused on bringing more consoles to the U.S. and Europe and delayed the launch in the Japan. This would have allowed more time for the development of Japanese titles. Also, I don't think they'll be a mad rush to buy 360's for Dead or Alive 4, but who knows.