DOA: XBOX360
It's Christmas Eve, and most of Japan doesn't care. Christmas here is not about gifts and family, it's about going on a date. That's not to say there aren't crowds at the shops, just not much more than usual. And as a gamer, I know the true meaning of Christmas: holiday launches.
When a game company wants to launch a new product, t'is the season. They know the holiday shopping rush will push opening sales and get them back into the black. After all, it's pretty expensive to bring change into the market. This was Microsoft's strategy with the XBOX360, beat their competitors by releasing early and during the holidays. And it worked great in the west, they can't pump out the machines fast enough.
Over here, however, things aren't as rosy. First of all, the Japanese never liked the original XBOX. This picture was taken a bit more than a year ago, when the system was in full force back home. That's a core system plus four games, and not some junk discount bin games either - Halo, PGR 2, Blinx 2, and Top Spin. A set like that would have sold for maybe $400 or more at the time, but the price there is 20,000 yen, about $200. Even at that steal of a deal, it still didn't sell. They offered that package for months and no one bought it.
Just last week the XBOX360 was released. There was some big opening day party held in Tokyo, but not quite the grand spectacle of the American debut. In the west, the system sold out instantly, with or without promotional events. After the Tokyo show, there were still plenty of systems available and by the end of the day they'd only managed to sell about 40% of thier stock (so I've read online). Very bad sign for Microsoft. I took this picture about a day or two after the Japanese release. Plenty of systems in stock, and there's even a used one for sale. That's either a demo unit, or someone bought one and returned it the very next day.
So how do I feel about the 360? I couldn't care less. The XBOX has always been the machine made for the American idiot. It's a big, powerful technology showcase with few innovative titles and focused too heavily on the action, racing, and sports genres. Not to say that all XBOX games are bad - DOA and Halo are certainly tops in my books - but there's just not that much in the way of variety or exclusive games. To crack the Japanese market (as far as I can see), Microsoft is going to have to do a lot more for RPG'ers (Fable doesn't count) and dating gamers (they're popular over here), encourage the development of unique and original games, as well as secure XBOX360-only games from well-known developers. They'll also have to prove they're Japanese, which may cost a little more than Mr. Gates is willing to spend.
It's Christmas Eve, and most of Japan doesn't care. Christmas here is not about gifts and family, it's about going on a date. That's not to say there aren't crowds at the shops, just not much more than usual. And as a gamer, I know the true meaning of Christmas: holiday launches.
When a game company wants to launch a new product, t'is the season. They know the holiday shopping rush will push opening sales and get them back into the black. After all, it's pretty expensive to bring change into the market. This was Microsoft's strategy with the XBOX360, beat their competitors by releasing early and during the holidays. And it worked great in the west, they can't pump out the machines fast enough.
Over here, however, things aren't as rosy. First of all, the Japanese never liked the original XBOX. This picture was taken a bit more than a year ago, when the system was in full force back home. That's a core system plus four games, and not some junk discount bin games either - Halo, PGR 2, Blinx 2, and Top Spin. A set like that would have sold for maybe $400 or more at the time, but the price there is 20,000 yen, about $200. Even at that steal of a deal, it still didn't sell. They offered that package for months and no one bought it.
Just last week the XBOX360 was released. There was some big opening day party held in Tokyo, but not quite the grand spectacle of the American debut. In the west, the system sold out instantly, with or without promotional events. After the Tokyo show, there were still plenty of systems available and by the end of the day they'd only managed to sell about 40% of thier stock (so I've read online). Very bad sign for Microsoft. I took this picture about a day or two after the Japanese release. Plenty of systems in stock, and there's even a used one for sale. That's either a demo unit, or someone bought one and returned it the very next day.So how do I feel about the 360? I couldn't care less. The XBOX has always been the machine made for the American idiot. It's a big, powerful technology showcase with few innovative titles and focused too heavily on the action, racing, and sports genres. Not to say that all XBOX games are bad - DOA and Halo are certainly tops in my books - but there's just not that much in the way of variety or exclusive games. To crack the Japanese market (as far as I can see), Microsoft is going to have to do a lot more for RPG'ers (Fable doesn't count) and dating gamers (they're popular over here), encourage the development of unique and original games, as well as secure XBOX360-only games from well-known developers. They'll also have to prove they're Japanese, which may cost a little more than Mr. Gates is willing to spend.
posted by Nick at 11:59 PM
1 Comments:
hey nick,it's John Kux and it's 1:16 AM here and i'm about to go back to school. (break is over, sadly.) Anyway, i read your blog from time to time and i've come to the conclusion that you're on your way to being the president of world travels. I swear, every time i open this webpage, you're somewhere new. Japan, China, etc. insanity! but all very Awesome.
I gotta agree with xbox360. Totally stale, nothign original at all. Kameo is the only game i'm remotley interested in, but i'm weeks away from 18 years old and i can honestly say i'm platformed out. I've been playin those games for years, RPG's (good ones.) are the only thing that hold my interest anymore. Where story and an innovative battlesystem take priority over fancy graphics and cinematics. Like Earthbound, Chrono Trigger, FF7...anyways..you get the point. When 360 came out the only thing on the shelves was two or three rows of the routine "EA sports!" games. yawn. Talk about mediocrity.
Anyways, just saying hi and i hope you had a merry christmas!! Do you get the quintessential christmas Gift Cards over there? I swear, i got ten of them. Real original, hahaha.
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