Content: Poor Xbox sales = Poor Xbox game sales (Score 4, Informative)

...and an Xbox title of any kind is, sadly, nowhere to be seen in the Top 30.

I'm not sure why this described as sad - I would characterize it as entirely predictable. We have all read about the many struggles that Microsoft has had in gaining acceptance in the Japanese market. Despite its best efforts, Microsoft's console has remained in last place, embarrassingly outsold even by the rebranded original PlayStation, the PSOne.

Part of the problem is the physically large design of the Xbox hardware itself, in a country where space in the typical home is at a premium and a small PS2 or GameCube is far preferable to the bulky Xbox.

Part of the problem is undoubtedly related to an allegiance to the domestic console manufacturers - Sony and Nintendo - over the foreign Microsoft.

But the biggest problem may be a cultural one. If the Xbox provided titles that appeal to the Japanese market, the Xbox would have better sales and better game sales. But it doesn't. Without the titles to back up the platform, there isn't - and the shouldn't be - any expectation of strong sales.

Splashy marketing and hype only buy you the attention of Japanese gamers (or any gamers for that matter). The question is: Can the Xbox deliver on the content?

So far - in Japan - the answer to that question is a resounding NO.