Great, great, great insight into the failure of the XBox 360 in Japan
Don’t blame the Japanese people for not buying a product that was not designed for them. It would be stupid of them to buy something that offers nothing they are interested in just for the sake of helping an American company. Give the Japanese gamers a product that meets their needs and wants and you will have another iPod on you hands.
As it stands, there are some very promising games coming up for the 360 by Japanese developers. But it might be too late, the Japanese already see the system as a failure. They should have delayed the launch until they had a strong launch lineup rather than have an early but weak launch.
This was most likely written by a gamer in his 20s, not an industry professional. That he has greater insight into the Japan gaming market than Robbie Bach and all of Microsoft _and_ Microsoft Japan’s gaming strategy teams is quite humbling, if I may say so. I agree that the Japan launch for XBOX360 should have been delayed to launch with more Japan-market-specific games, because without a successful launch, it will be hard to get gamers to invest in a new system when they believe that the PS3 is coming in Spring 2006.
The comments are also great too. This is why blogs are awesome.
The Xbox 360 And Japanese Nationalism [4colorrebellion.com]
If the original Xbox tells us anything, the 360 will not be as popular as the PS3.
I own the Gamecube, Xbox, and PS2 and I find myself on the PS2 much more than the xbox. It’s not just a matter of good hardware. The software available makes a huge difference.
The Playstation platform has consistently provided a wider range of games for both Japanese and American audiences.
I don’t think it’s as simple as making or not making a console that caters to a nationality. It’s more of a matter of making quality games that target gamers.
And lets not forget Nintendo. They might have failed with the gamecube, but they also created something new. They are always pushing the envelope with new ways to play games and new types of games.
Animal Crossing, using the GBA as a controler in games like Crystal Chronicles, these were all firsts.
I can’t wait to see what they do with the revolution. It’s easy to follow a formula of faster hardware and more complex games, but in the end your imitating. It takes guts to try something new and to handle the risks involved. But in the end it may change the way we play games.