Xbox's future in Japan

[Shifty Geezer]

Here's an article describing how Japanese retailers are dropping the 360 due to lack of demand. They go on to finish:

While the console's gradual disappearance from store shelves does not prevent gamers making their purchases online - indeed, it is our understanding that Amazon now handles a substantial proportion of Japanese Xbox 360 software sales - it does complicate things for Microsoft.
With an Xbox 360 successor widely accepted to be released in 2014, the firm may struggle to convince Japanese retailers to stock and prominently display the console when they have a decade's worth of proof that higher returns are available elsewhere.

Two generations of XB haven't made a dent. What can MS do with XB3? Will that impact their desgin for the platform, making choices to favour the Japanese market? Or should they give up on the console there and look for a mobile platform for Japan?

 

[Arwin]

Co-opt with a Japanese firm and release it under a different name, using a different package.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

That suggests the brand itself is being avoided, rather than the product being a poor fit for the market. If MS did a deal with some company like Samsung or Pansonic to rebadge XB360 and call it something else, would it sell any better? Or is the the content and services have failed to reach the audience? Or is the audience already perfectly catered for by Nintendo and Sony and there's no room for a new platform to maneouvre and take market share? The significant investment in Japanese launch really hasn't gained traction.

I suppose if MS are serious, they could money-hat Square and Konami for exclusive rights to FF and MGS next gen! Oh, and Dragon Quest. And monster Hunter. That should have it covered, short of Pokemon which they'll never get.

 

[Arwin]

It's a combination. Working together with a Japanese brand would help localise the product in various ways - looks, presentation, marketing.

 

[V3]

At this point console is pretty dead in Japan. Hand held is probably a better bet for MS taking some market share in Japan.

I suppose if MS are serious, they could money-hat Square and Konami for exclusive rights to FF and MGS next gen! Oh, and Dragon Quest. And monster Hunter. That should have it covered, short of Pokemon which they'll never get.

MS did money hat some big JRPGs in Japan, didn't amount to much in the end. The Japanese wanted their JRPG on PS3, when it start appearing on 360, the market got confused and gave up both PS3 and 360. So now japanese console devs are pretty screwed if they don't rely on international market.

 

[Rangers]

Here's an article describing how Japanese retailers are dropping the 360 due to lack of demand. They go on to finish:
Two generations of XB haven't made a dent. What can MS do with XB3? Will that impact their desgin for the platform, making choices to favour the Japanese market? Or should they give up on the console there and look for a mobile platform for Japan?

I think the Japanese are pretty resistant to foreign products in many cases (and most/all western games too) and there's not much that can be done.

X360 did improve a lot over Xb1 showing though.

As for the future, I dont think much of anything can be done. Just try to become more dominant in the west, and maybe you can do a little better in Japan with each gen. Maybe XB3 can sell 3 million there where 360 only did 1.5.

I definitely do not think they should "cater" in any way to the Japanese market that would in any way hurt them in the Western market, as I do not think the Japanese will respond in any case, so it would just be a waste.

If they want to continue throwing (hopefully not too many) $ at Japan as an extra, that's OK I guess.

Overall the Japanese console market has lost a tremendous amount of importance just this gen anyway. So I dont think it is crucial at all anymore. Going into this gen I never expected X360 to be able to outsell PS3 worldwide, simply because PS3 would have the Japanese market uncontested. However it's looking quite possible now, because the Japanese market has declined so much.

I dont think a MS mobile platform would sell in Japan either, nor do I think there's enough money there to be worth the trouble. I haven't looked it up but I imagine dedicated handheld gaming is somewhat declining to even if it is much stronger than console.

The irony is Japan's resistance to western gaming tastes ends up making them less relevant as a market. Every hardware sold in Japan is relatively meaningless as far as EA, Ubisoft, Activision are concerned. It only benefits a few Japanese companies (IE, Capcom, Konami) that sell games well in both Japan and the West.

 

[boommoob1]

That suggests the brand itself is being avoided, rather than the product being a poor fit for the market. If MS did a deal with some company like Samsung or Pansonic to rebadge XB360 and call it something else, would it sell any better? Or is the the content and services have failed to reach the audience? Or is the audience already perfectly catered for by Nintendo and Sony and there's no room for a new platform to maneouvre and take market share? The significant investment in Japanese launch really hasn't gained traction.

I suppose if MS are serious, they could money-hat Square and Konami for exclusive rights to FF and MGS next gen! Oh, and Dragon Quest. And monster Hunter. That should have it covered, short of Pokemon which they'll never get.

The problem for MS there is it's doubtful Sony will have a money sink with PS4 and will likely be spending there own money. There big chance was this gen.

 

[AlphaWolf]

This gen MS tripled their sales, Sony cut theirs to 1/3rd in Japan (maybe someday the ps3 will reach half, but I think that's a huge stretch).

When they release a new console, I'm sure some people in Japan will buy it. However as Rangers said the Japanese market is much less relevant than it once was and throwing big money at it makes little sense.

 

[tongue_of_colicab]

I think the Japanese are pretty resistant to foreign products in many cases (and most/all western games too) and there's not much that can be done.

Lol ever been to Japan? They love western stuff. Designer clothes, phones, cars etc basically all the stuff that is good for your image they prefer western.

The problem probably lies more in how MS put their consoles into the market. Nintendo and Sony cater to what the Japanese want to play. Now look at the x360 games you can buy over in Japan and you'll see its mostly western games. The type the Japanese never played that much to begin with.

Thats what MS needs to fix.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

The problem probably lies more in how MS put their consoles into the market. Nintendo and Sony cater to what the Japanese want to play. Now look at the x360 games you can buy over in Japan and you'll see its mostly western games. The type the Japanese never played that much to begin with.

Thats what MS needs to fix.

What's confusing with that is MS tried that at 360s launch, and had lots of exclusives, but it didn't really catapult to a point where the console was accepted. I'm wondering if it's not western conosles that the Japanese won't buy, but new IPs? That's where my wild theory of securing the big titles comes from. If your console is the only platform to play FF and Monster Hunter, doesn't that secure it as the platform? Is the fate of a console in Japan out of the console company's hands and at the mercy of the publishers who choose what to put on it?

 

[rekator]

Japan Market is not the market leader now … so no need to push far on it. Time have change.
M$ secure Japan devs who can sell on western market, and don't forget that only few japan devs arrived to master modern dev method. They need to change, so they need time.

 

[kagemaru]

Lol ever been to Japan? They love western stuff. Designer clothes, phones, cars etc basically all the stuff that is good for your image they prefer western.

The problem probably lies more in how MS put their consoles into the market. Nintendo and Sony cater to what the Japanese want to play. Now look at the x360 games you can buy over in Japan and you'll see its mostly western games. The type the Japanese never played that much to begin with.

Thats what MS needs to fix.

As shifty pointed out, it doesn't look like the games were entirely the problem. They scored exclusives early on with Mistwalker and Namco for example.

I do think the problem is owning an xbox doesn't improve your image or isn't as popular as a Nintendo or Sony system. It's probably still seen as a shooter box over there as well, and that's not a very popular genre over there.

 

[tongue_of_colicab]

I dont think scoring a few exclusives is enough. It's not only about having one or two big name titles but also about the dozens of mecha, anime etc games. These games don't really show up in the charts but if you look over the shelves around here you see a lot of those games. Looking over at the 360 section its basically shooters, racing and sports. They don't care about shooters and the only sport that is really big here is baseball but im not even sure if they are actually that keen on sports games.

 

[liolio]

What MS has to do for Japanese tiny studio to develop for their products?
Partial fond the development/port?
Handing away the devs kits?
I mean MS has by far the most easy to develop for system, do they have a problem with their Japanese documentation or something?
Demanding MS to do any of the options above ( proper docs aside) is BS. Japan is not that important MS should pass on any expenses on this markets, it's not worse it. They can achieve way higher ROI on other markets.

 

[Ghostz]

What's confusing with that is MS tried that at 360s launch, and had lots of exclusives, but it didn't really catapult to a point where the console was accepted. I'm wondering if it's not western conosles that the Japanese won't buy, but new IPs? That's where my wild theory of securing the big titles comes from. If your console is the only platform to play FF and Monster Hunter, doesn't that secure it as the platform? Is the fate of a console in Japan out of the console company's hands and at the mercy of the publishers who choose what to put on it?

Microsoft needs major exclusives. Yes, they virtually need to secure DQ and FF exclusivity throughout the product life cycle to move hardware - which we know would never happen. Other than that what's the point of owning a 360 if you don't like Western shooters? I mean Sony has plenty of those anyway and even Western games like Infamous and Uncharted are charting. In fact, I think Sony has the right idea to push their own Western properties this in turn would open up minds to our games. Something Microsoft simply doesn't have the power to do.

 

[Cyan]

What MS has to do for Japanese tiny studio to develop for their products?
Partial fond the development/port?
Handing away the devs kits?
I mean MS has by far the most easy to develop for system, do they have a problem with their Japanese documentation or something?
Demanding MS to do any of the options above ( proper docs aside) is BS. Japan is not that important MS should pass on any expenses on this markets, it's not worse it. They can achieve way higher ROI on other markets.

Perhaps Japan isn't what it used to be when it comes to consoles, but I would never leave Japan if I were Microsoft. Determination, a positive attitude, some hard work and being intelligent trying to fulfill what japanese gamers want, could work in the long run

Microsoft will have to make up their own mind what they want to do, but with some persistence and creating a specific console model that suits japanese tastes could work. I don't think Microsott want to be the like the lady on the TV commercial, "I've fallen and I can't get up!". They won't do much on Japan this generation, no matter what, and it will get even worse until the X720 comes out, but they can keep trying.

My belief is that it would be better for the Xbox division to invest and spend their money on something that has the potential to attract Japan's culture, because the alternative of bringing the same experiences there as in Europe and America won't work. The best solution is trying to design a different model of console for Japan, and invest on first and 3rd party titles that cater to the japanese market.

Changing the name Xbox to something else might work too, because Xbox sounds just terrible, imo.

 

[Dr. Nick]

At this point console is pretty dead in Japan. Hand held is probably a better bet for MS taking some market share in Japan.



MS did money hat some big JRPGs in Japan, didn't amount to much in the end. The Japanese wanted their JRPG on PS3, when it start appearing on 360, the market got confused and gave up both PS3 and 360. So now japanese console devs are pretty screwed if they don't rely on international market.

It actually helped them quite a bit. The problem as I see it is that Microsoft totally gave up about a year or two ago(It depends on when the last Japanese made title was published by MGSJ and it has been awhile.). Microsoft ended up in a better position than they were in the generation before in Japan and now the majority of the big name developers from Japan are on board making games for the system and would be foolish to not take what happened this gen to heart and be aboard for the next system.

The problem as I see it is that Microsoft once again screwed the people who bought the system in Japan by giving them no reason to keep the system and therefore no reason to come back for a second time. If they launch in Japan again they will likely be starting from scratch when it comes to userbase. You might say that Microsoft will be doing the same thing everywhere next time around but that would not be true. The 360 would be no where near the position it is in if it weren't for a great deal of the userbase of the Xbox 1 coming back for more. Microsoft has managed to keep the majority of system owners in the west happy both this generation and last by making an effort to keep owners happy with their systems, making it easier for the current userbase to see the benefits of sticking with a Microsoft platform the next time around. Microsoft is not doing that in Japan. The majority of those who bought this gen will not trust Microsoft enough to invest the equivalent of $400 next gen. It's not always about getting new users, keeping the users you already have happy is just as important.

 

[kyleb]

What can MS do with XB3?

Henti games.

 

[Rotmm]

Microsoft will have to make up their own mind what they want to do, but with some persistence and creating a specific console model that suits japanese tastes could work.

I thought that the original Xbox360 design, from the concave curved lines to the 'non-agressive' off-white finish and along with the replaceable fronts, was heavily influenced by what MS though would appeal to the Japanese tastes?

And then there was significant support of various Japanese developers for the first few years of the life of the console, bringing a large number of Xbox 360 exclusives designed to appeal to both the Japanese and larger world market. Because of that, even though the 360 hasn't sold in large numbers in Japan, many games developed in Japan are multiplatform.

As I see it (and I'm only an outsider looking in, so I can't say for certain) MS have spend an inordinate amount of time, effort and money on trying to get a foothold into the Japanese market and have mostly failed.

In all honesty I would say, "Good effort" and leave it be. WIth a decent install base and Japanese developers desperate to expand the appeal of their games, they're going to develop for a Microsoft console now anyway, and the greater install base outside of Japan that they have, the more Japanese developers will want to have a piece of that pie.

If MS had devoted as much focus on winning the EU market I would guess that they would be 10 million ahead in install base from where they are now. If there is a new gen Xbox on the horizon, then the focus should be on the core markets (US and UK) and a heavy push into the wider EU market. Xbox 360 should be used to break into the emerging markets such as India. And Japan? Launch into it 6 months to a year later, put little real effort into it and just hope it catches the imagination.

 

[Ghostz]

Despite whatever you say about Japan, in terms of dollars spent on the gaming industry (whether it's the publisher side or gamer side of it ), the only country bigger is the US. I don't really see how Microsoft can "ignore" Japan, the notion is absurd.