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Just 99 Xbox Ones were sold in Japan last week
- Thread starter Lights and Waves
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Pathfinder
Member
Pankratous
Member
Why do they bother staying in the market? They're not making money. I don't understand why they haven't pulled out yet. I can't think of any product performing so poorly in a region and yet the creator insists on selling it there.
What purpose does continuing serve? The only reason I can think is to avoid the bad PR of not supporting their few thousand sales.
What purpose does continuing serve? The only reason I can think is to avoid the bad PR of not supporting their few thousand sales.
SinCityAssassin
Member
I would assume assuring japanese developers that their country still "matters" to them.
Consumer and developer trust. If you're just going to leave why should they consider your brand ever again. Sure, it's rock bottom but the future is unknown. What little Japanese support they get must still count having a presence and native set up. Who cares, it's Microsoft's money. They would get hammered for turning their back just the same.
Yeah, 127 million people just don't get it like you do (well, I guess 99 of those people do get it)!
{insert code here}
Member
There's the fear that if they pull out they lose dev support in the region. No Xbone version of FF, no bone version of DkSouls, etc. They invested in Japan last generation to get Final Fantasy, Metal Gear, and Resident Evil. That's why you saw MS stop investing in JRPGs because they got what they wanted. Now, with most japanese developers already having jumped off it makes you wonder, if FFXV tanks on xbone in US/UK then how long until the rest of them stop making games for xbox and we revert back to the pre-360 era where MS is literally back to square one in terms of marketshare, dev support, and mindshare.
minkymuskyslyoldstoaty
Member
My Japanese coworkers call it the Baka Box (stupid box).
I got mine in a week where it was over 200.
BladeoftheImmortal
Member
99 Luftballones.
Quadraphonic
Member
Japan DOES have biases against other countries.
Samsung (A korean company) is reviled in Japan, so they actually sell their phones there now under a different company.
http://techcrunch.com/2015/04/19/samsung-ditches-logos-in-japan/
That said, a huge amount of people have Apple iPhones, so American companies aren't a source of conflict.
It's really more about hating Korea and China than loving Japan.
Samsung (A korean company) is reviled in Japan, so they actually sell their phones there now under a different company.
http://techcrunch.com/2015/04/19/samsung-ditches-logos-in-japan/
That said, a huge amount of people have Apple iPhones, so American companies aren't a source of conflict.
It's really more about hating Korea and China than loving Japan.
uh....
Was it Japan where most gamers are on PC and handhelds? Or am I thinking of China?
That must be the reason.
That doesn't mean jack. Even Square dropped them. They're done.
Kurt Angle
Member
they still xboxes in Japan?
surprised they managed to sell that high of a number
surprised they managed to sell that high of a number
Too bad that's an oversimplification of the situation. If they were so proud if their own things no American company would trive there. McDonald's wouldn't be there, Apple wouldn't be there, hell Microsoft themselves with windows wouldn't be there. This is the line if thinking someone wants to take to justify why the Xbox isn't doing well there with what seems like the right answer but ignoring every instance that that answer contradicts them.
blacklotus
Member
Bad example. Really bad example.
Pathfinder
Member
Instead of making a false generalization, you may want to ask yourself why a typical Japanese gamer would choose an Xbox over a PS4. What does the Xbox have that's better for the Japanese market?
The answer is absolutely nothing.
It's unnecessarily big and bulky, less powerful, emphasizes services not available in Japan, has virtually no exclusive Japanese titles, and has, to put it nicely, paltry third party support from Japanese devs. How many Japanese gamers do you really expect to buy one just to play stuff like Halo and Gears of War? It's not about them not liking American products (which is completely untrue in the first place). It's about Microsoft trying to sell a system completely out of line with what Japanese gamers value in a system. The sad part is they didn't actually learn anything from the 360 generation and instead tried to sell a system there that's even LESS appealing in virtually every way.
dickroach
Member
alright, fine. it's like soccer then
Fox Mulder
Member
They should have stopped after the first Xbox failed. They did so much to appeal to Japan, even early in the 360. It's a waste in a dying market.
SmokedMeat
Gamer™
I don't see how it's worth staying in that market.
Hm maybe I should buy one. Sounds comforting having so few people in the playerbase. Imagine seeing the same group of people in every game online?
Xbox One is like Cheers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KtAgAMzaeg
Xbox One is like Cheers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KtAgAMzaeg
I think that's kind of his point. It's not just consumers, but devs that have the pride and don't want to invest in the console.
Not saying that I agree with him though.
iPhones are made in China, So are PS4's.
K-pop and Korean drams are highly popular in Japan, issues around overstaturation in Korea's own smaller music market have led to odd fixtures such as K pop group SHU-I lacking a korean website and having this sort of discography:
Korean discography
Mini-album
[2013.07.25] Mini Album Vol.1
Digital single
[2009.09.11] Bomb Bomb Bomb
Japanese discography
Album
[2012.07.15] Nextage
[2015.03.25] I-Dream
Mini-album
[2011.01.26] Star Light (indies)
Singles
[2011.05.04] Smile For Me
[2011.08.17] Summer Sweet / Kizuna (キズナ
[2011.12.07] Never Give Up Yeah! (ネバギバ Yeah!)
[2012.04.11] Don't Be Down
[2012.11.21] Daigyakuten (大逆転
[2013.03.13] Achakocha Sorry (あちゃこちゃSorry)
[2013.11.25] So In Luv
[2014.06.30] Kon'nani kimi o sukinanoni dōshite? (こんなに君を好きなのにどうして?)
[2014.12.15] Mirai e (未来へ
Because japanese hate baka gajin or something.
KARA
Korean albums
The First Blooming (2007)
Revolution (2009)
Step (2011)
Full Bloom (2013)
Japanese albums
Girl's Talk (2010)
Super Girl (2011)
Girls Forever (2012)
Fantastic Girls (2013)
Girl's Story (2015)
KARA was so hated for the deep sin of being non japanese they got a Tokyo dome Concert and their own Anime show....
The success of US and South Korean products, culture, and firms other than Samsung phones and Xbox indicate that there are issues around those products and not on the phantasms of inscrutable Japanese bigotry.
The Japanese are smart. Samsung should be reviled everywhere
Companies don't work that way. They are in it for money, not for petty reasons. Theres no games because there is no install base, not the other way around. Microsoft as the hardware provider has to be the first to give customers and developers a reason to invest in their console, something they have not done in Japan, and frankly something they have done piss poorly everywhere that isn't the USA.
Bigmac1910
Member
Just my personal experience with Samsung over the years, LCD TV developed some gray blotches here and there after 2 years of normal usage. Gaming laptop at purchase, broken 3D screen and keys were coming off when typing lol, took them over a month of troubleshooting to conclude that they could not fix it. Had to chase them for a month to get a refund after they told me I would get one. Stupidly I bought a slightly different version of the same laptop, came with broken left speaker, at this point I just ignored it. Keyboard w,a,s,d was almost too hot to touch while playing a game, (previous version didn't have this issue) had to buy an external fan to make it better, and finally it broke down after 2.5 years of usage. My Galaxy note2 is still working, but it haven't received an update since Android 4.4.2.
Yeah they might be the best bang for the buck, but their quality control and support is quite bad. Unless we are talking about certain components like SSDs etc. So I am buying other brands now apart from my new SSDs.
Yeah they might be the best bang for the buck, but their quality control and support is quite bad. Unless we are talking about certain components like SSDs etc. So I am buying other brands now apart from my new SSDs.
BabyFaceKillah
Member
its over.
Japan is a mobile market. They don't want to go back to TVs. That is like horse and buggy to them.
Bigmac1910
Member
They don't, my local Bic Camera and Edion don't stock them, and they both are one of the biggest chain stores here in Japan. So in one way you can't really blame the Japanese for not buying it as Xbox has zero presence at retail. Also, Xbox live while I was subscribing for 6 months, had Max and the Cursed Brotherhood 3 times as the only free game lol. Oh yeah, they didn't launch Gears Of War Ultimate edition as they "couldn't make it work" whatever that means.
Xbox presence, game launches and support here is absolutely appalling. I could maybe compare it to the Sony Xperia line in the US, but it's somehow even worse than that.
Outrun
Member
Actually, it is called majority-GAF, and it does exist...
Bear Force One
Banned
Wow nazis.
It's actually majority-world or better known as reality. No reason to call it out like it's a bias.
NDP_Mulcair
Banned
Maybe a "bomb" of some sort would help them come to their senses? Hmm?
minkymuskyslyoldstoaty
Member
GEO do. That's where I bought mine from.
A couple of independent second-hand shops told me when I asked that they would, reluctantly, accept second-hand games but they wouldn't buy second-hand Xbox One consoles.
Bigmac1910
Member
Sorry I'm new in Japan, don't know what GEO is, I did find a website called Games of Japan, but do they have retail stores? As that's what I was talking about, but yeah, you can get Xbox One online incl. Amazon Japan.
newtypepilot
Member
xbone is failing in Japan because their games don't appeal to the market. The Japanese market is now dominated by handheld and mobile. PS4 isn't doing particularly well in Japan either. Combined with the fact that MS never really put much priority towards Japanese market and you end up with almost no sales.
minkymuskyslyoldstoaty
Member
GEO is a chain of DVD rental stores. They also sell new and second-hand consoles. If you like used games, it is well worth checking out your local GEO. They don't have much in the way of super-rare collectables, but they have most regular releases going back to the PS2 days and a few PS games. Do a google image search for, say, Geo Nakano Sakaue (my local) and you'll see what one of their stores looks like.
And welcome to Japan.
And welcome to Japan.
SenjutsuSage
Banned
That's 99 very happy gamers right there.
You have something on one of the admins here, don't you? Or what's your secret of not getting the boot?
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