Xbox 360
Microsoft faces its toughest challenge to date in Japan. The previous Xbox struggled to find credibility among gamers so Microsoft has been working hard to turn that image around by recruiting big-name game developers to write exclusive content for the Xbox 360 that will appeal to Japanese gamers' specific tastes.
Japan is the second biggest gaming market in the world after the United States. Sony's Playstation 2 has dominated for some time and has even outsold the Nintendo Gamecube. Microsoft has a huge job in convincing Japan's fanatical gamers to sell their souls to the 360. To put this into perspective, Sony sold 21 million PS2s in Asia where only 1.8 million Xboxs were shifted.
The Xbox 360 Japan launch began with a countdown party at 6:45am Saturday in Tokyo's trendy Shibuya district. Although some websites reckon that around 200 people had queued up to grab the revolutionary new console, Yahoo reported that there were only 10 people outside the store when the doors were opened. A senior store official claimed that only about 50 consoles were sold in the first two hours of opening. The excitment that was evident about the Xbox 360 launches in the USA and Europe was non existent according to Japanese tabloids.
It seems that many Japanese gamers would rather wait to get their hands on the Playstation 3, due out in next spring. The fact that there is only one launch game for the 360 that is specifically aimed at the Japanese market - Every Party - could account for consumers hesitancy. Other launch titles include Ridge Racer 6, Perfect Dark Zero, FIFA 06, Tetris and Need for Speed Most Wanted - hardly an awe-inspiring list. An RPG at launch may have evoked a different response.
"Analysts expect the Xbox 360 to sell better than its previous version, but they don't expect it to seriously challenge Sony's dominance of the gaming market in Japan. There is no way it will come close to the PlayStation," said Tokyo-based Deutsche Securities analyst Takashi Oya. "Microsoft will have done well if it gets 10 per cent market share in Japan."
