The 360's Japanese Status Revisited 68
Next Generation is reporting on more elements of the Xbox 360's presence in Japan. From the corporate side of things, the head of the Xbox division in Japan can be referred to as vaguely pessimistic. From the article: "Two RPGs from such a prolific fellow as Sakaguchi may strike a chord in Japan, but Microsoft will have to pull out even more tricks with the impending launch of the Wii and PS3, both of which Japan gamers favor over the Xbox brand. Right now, the Xbox 360 can't even make any headway sans next-gen competition. 'Globally we are doing very well but Japan has always been tough,' Huston admitted. 'We launched early and with not enough Japan-specific content.'" They're also running an article looking deeper into the situation, an examination from an outsider's perspective. From that article: "Mr. Huston has also commented that the 360 'launched early,' which is true in many senses of the word -- they launched before all their competitors, they launched early into the popularity of high-definition televisions in Japan, and they launched earlier than any good games. It was widely believed by Microsoft Japan that Dead or Alive 4 would save the system at launch, though really, how naive is that?"
Re:Why no staged rollout? (Score:3, Insightful)
The one thing I couldn't understand is in all the interviews with higher ups involved with the Xbox line was they always said "The Xbox failed in japan because there wasn't enough Japan-centric games, nothing was made for that region. We have learned from this though and the Xbox 360 will have more Japan-centric games"
So they launch worldwide and what is the selection of games japan has? All American & European centric games, not one that would appeal to the Japan crowd. Yet they kept pushing that Dead or Alive 4 would change all that, everyone in Japan would buy a 360 once that game was released.
after the 4th delay it get's released and sales for the 360 barely move. NOW they are going on about the two RPG's from Sakaguchi, like he is going to suddenly sell millions of 360's in japan just cause of his games.
Sure he made final fantasy (or is it Dragon quest?) but that was how many years ago? when games like that weren't exactly abundant, Now you have so many companies doing RPG's that it's hard to tell them apart at times. He's starting two whole new franchises, They have never released an Xbox game before, no one knows what to expect from the game (there isn't exactly a whole lot to go off of, cause you always can remember Fable, everytime they talked about it they would talk about ALL the stuff in the game, in the videos you rarely saw anything, it was released and had nothing they said it would). So naturally the Japanese are taking a wait and see approach.
Maybe the game will be a great RPG and revitalize the RPG genre (doubtfull), Maybe it will fail misserably, who knows but there won't be any mass 360 movements untill they start thinking more about the region and that they NEED more Japanese centric (aka LONG &/or FUN) games, not countless sports, Racing & FPS'.
Re:It's a cultural thing (Score:2, Insightful)
Basically, saying the XBox is unpopular in Japan because it is American is like saying that Hello Kitty backpacks are unpopular with North American teenagers because the backpacks are Japaneese.
Re:It's a cultural thing (Score:2, Insightful)
My point though, is that the introduction of "American" products will always be met with some hesitation. I noticed three trends when it came to the introduction of American products in Nippon:
1. Products that have an already established and well marketed baseline will be met with resistance , if the introduced product is markedly different from the norm (Cars, video games, fashion)
2. Products that are uniquely "American," that fit a preconceived Japanese stereotype but does not contradict with point #1 will succeed. (MacDonald's comes to mind as the best example)
3. Products that pander to an international standard of design or one of Japanese inspiration will do well. The iPod, for example performed well because it fit Japanese design standards: small, convenient, focus on core product purpose, etc. Also, a friend of mine who is on the iPod design team studied in Japan for about 3-4 years, speaks Japanese fluently, etc. I make that point less to say that he single-handedly designed the device to meet sales, but to say that Apple clearly makes effort to appeal to Japanese standards as part of their product design
Sony got something right (sort of) (Score:2, Insightful)
Sure there are some great games coming up, but MS needs to convince them that this is not a "one off" thing. Sony's chief exec said that the PS3 is about potential, and he's right. When a gamer buys a console, they look for a system that will provide the desired experience now... and years down the road.
I don't think the Japanese are anti-american on this, but it takes a long time to change perception. MS needs a string of good J-friendly releases over time to do this. Maybe the perception will change in time for the next Xbox.
Re:It's a cultural thing (Score:5, Insightful)
Your assertions are both simplistic and false. Japan has no real bias against American technology firms, nor American companies in general. The American concept of "pop culture" dictates a lot of what is popular in Japan, and the Japanese have no hate for American driven culture in the public sense.
Point and case: the iPod has been wildly successful in Japan, and is the number one selling MP3 player in Japan by a wide margin, despite the fact that Apple is VERY much an American company.
The problem for Microsoft is two-fold:
1. They don't understand the Japanese consumer. Japanese consumers are VERY different from American consumers. American consumers, more often than not, follow one of two basic buying templates: they buy based on hype, or they buy based on function. Japanese consumers, generally speaking, buy on these three principals, in this order: 1. Brand (has this company sold quality products in the past) 2. Form & Community (Will it look cool wearing it/Will I easily be able to use this with other people I know) 3. Function (Does it have all of the features I am looking for).
Microsoft fails all three counts drastically with the 360, which brings me to the second problem for Microsoft.
2. Microsoft faces a very negative connotation in Japan. Most Japanese people see Windows for what it is: a bulky, bloated, lazy piece of insecure code that isn't worth a fourth as much as Microsoft charges for it, and only survives because of strongarm techniques and an active monopoly.
The Japanese people resent this; nearly as much as the average slashdotter.
So the problem is not that American companies face negative connotations, it's that Microsoft does, and it doesn't help that Microsoft entered a field that where TWO other companies have all three important consumer points in Japan.
So next time you see that the Japanese consumer passed by a display of 30 X360's to buy a DS, don't tag it to racism. Just cry more noob.