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Why does the Xbox products not sell in Japan?

dean290000

New Member
I don't mean for this to be off-topic. I am a PS1/PS2/PS3/PS4 owner and have played on the 360 a good bit and have only tried the Xbone in a store. I prefer the PS4 because it generally has the best exclusives and less problems than the Microsoft consoles.

However, I guess I don't understand why hardly anyone buys the Xbox in Japan. I do understand the part about the lack of JRPGs and other popular games but if Sony and Nintendo can sell to the US, I don't see why MS cannot sell a gaming console to Japan with good sales numbers even if it requires them to acquire some Japanese studios.

I have only been to Japan once in my life for a week on a business trip and I don't feel like I understand whether this is a cultural thing or whatnot?

If anyone who has lived in both Japan and the US can chime in, it would be greatly interesting to hear your perspective on this.

Dean


PS: I want the PS4 to be the better console and it is IMO but I also want Microsoft and Nintendo to compete because we will all get better games that way!
 

dean290000

New Member
Sorry for posting in the wrong section. I am being honest though in wanting to know the answer. Is it prejudice against American companies or some other factor? I know how popular American culture is in Japan and they sure as hell do use Microsoft in Japan so I am real curious as to why they don't buy the Xbox/360/One there.
 

SpaceTiger

New Member
Microsoft has never been able to wrap their mind around a region neutral console is one of the reasons. Nintendo is popular in US mainly because it established itself early after saving the video game industry here after Atari spiked it. It had name value and the gold sticker meant something (as did the "Only For Super Nintendo" notice by the time of SNES).

Sony established itself here first as a "causal gamer" console and then as a hardcore gamer console--in the same generation--by having built in technology that allowed people to enjoy the popular medium of that time (audio CD). That continued with PS2 (DVDs) and PS3 (Blu-Ray). Gamers who wanted to play games would come, but it also helped that there were titles that everyone could play similar to Nintendo's family of consoles.

While Japan seems to be moving away from consoles, Nintendo and Sony kept their brand relevant in Japan with handhelds.

Microsoft hasn't really offered anything that Japan would want. It's like sure they brought online play and made it popular, but Sega did that years prior. I doubt they'd want to pay to use their internet to play the whole time and Microsoft has always been known as that console with all the shooters--which doesn't have a high appeal there. PlayStation consoles have shooters as well, but Sony has a bunch of other stuff as well as developers that make stuff they'd prefer to play. That also kind of paints them as the mature console and the mature only console. There's

Sony delivers with traditional RPGs and big budget games out of their home studio and Nintendo delivers with RPGs (on the handheld front), legacy characters, and stuff the whole family and everyone of every age can enjoy. Most importantly Sony and Nintendo know how to sell that to every region. While Nintendo sold the most last generation it was the Sony-Microsoft show. Now looking at the generations and which consoles took the sales in each it's always been the Nintendo-Sony show since the 2nd generation (NES, Master System, whatever Atari had out...7800 I think).

To sum it up, Microsoft doesn't have brand issues itself in Japan because as dean said, people in Japan use Microsoft--Xbox has brand issues and Microsoft is doing a bad job at showing that it's a console for everyone, a console that is just about shooters, and a console that doesn't just cater to hardcore gamers/westerners. It can be done. The last company that wasn't Nintendo and Sony to do that was Sega and that was western company until it went developer only.
 

Razor

New Member
To sum it up, Microsoft doesn't have brand issues itself in Japan because as dean said, people in Japan use Microsoft--Xbox has brand issues and Microsoft is doing a bad job at showing that it's a console for everyone, a console that is just about shooters, and a console that doesn't just cater to hardcore gamers/westerners. It can be done. The last company that wasn't Nintendo and Sony to do that was Sega and that was western company until it went developer only.

Hit the nail on the head.
 

SpaceTiger

New Member
SeanM made a good point and it's usually the main point, Microsoft has never really courted the Japanese market and they've had 12-13 years to do it in.
 

deathbyprayer

New Member
Well first of all, Sony and Nintendo are both Japanese companies, I'm not quite sure what to make of it but I think its one of the reason. Another thing is, I think Microsofts' marketing in Japan doesn't go off that well.
 

Sturgis

New Member
It's kind of odd seeing that there were more shmups made by small Japanese companies on the 360 than on PS3, though I guess it's because shmups are usually small games, so they would rather put it on a DVD rather than wasting a Blu-Ray.
 
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Ridge

New Member
Well first of all, Sony and Nintendo are both Japanese companies, I'm not quite sure what to make of it but I think its one of the reason. Another thing is, I think Microsofts' marketing in Japan doesn't go off that well.


The Japanese are a deep rooted culturally prideful people. In gaming the top company has always been japanese. Whether it be Sega, Nintendo or Sony. Many Japanese consider the gaming products to be at their best when done by their own, and view the Xbox consoles as the big bruteing american invading consoles. So they just don't support them.
 

dean290000

New Member
The Japanese are a deep rooted culturally prideful people. In gaming the top company has always been japanese. Whether it be Sega, Nintendo or Sony. Many Japanese consider the gaming products to be at their best when done by their own, and view the Xbox consoles as the big bruteing american invading consoles. So they just don't support them.

It is interesting to me that they use Windows all over Japan but don't wont the American Console. I assume there probably are not any (or at least hardly any) Japanese RPGs made for the 360/Xbone which I know is popular in Japan.
 

Ridge

New Member
It is interesting to me that they use Windows all over Japan but don't wont the American Console. I assume there probably are not any (or at least hardly any) Japanese RPGs made for the 360/Xbone which I know is popular in Japan.

The windows example isn't the same thing. That was something America got right first, where as gaming they got right first. Also yes PS3 got all the RPGs.
 

deathbyprayer

New Member
The Japanese are a deep rooted culturally prideful people. In gaming the top company has always been japanese. Whether it be Sega, Nintendo or Sony. Many Japanese consider the gaming products to be at their best when done by their own, and view the Xbox consoles as the big bruteing american invading consoles. So they just don't support them.

Yeah I think you're right. I have Japanese friends and none of them owned an Xbox but stil, I think if Japanese developers support the Xbox it will be flooded with a lot of great games.
 

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