Prediction: The road to victory is Europe.

[avaya]

Let's see. If I was Steve Ballmer, head honcho at Microsoft, I'd probably wish I were Steve Jobs!

Seriously, I would target the world's largest economies (US and EU) first, followed by the world's most populous countries (China and India). I wouldn't waste time and energy wooing Japan.

Notwithstanding, my first priority would be to overhaul Xbox Support. What's selling the product isn't merit, but its quality of service.



[size=-2]P.S. The road to victory isn't Europe -- it is aggregate sales.[/size]

To win Europe you will need those Japanese games. To get those Japanese games you need to woo those Japanese developers. To woo those Japanese developers you need to make a concerted effort in Japan. This is the reason why Microsoft is still plugging away in Japan. Everything is inter-dependent.

 

[kimg]

To win Europe you will need those Japanese games. To get those Japanese games you need to woo those Japanese developers. To woo those Japanese developers you need to make a concerted effort in Japan. This is the reason why Microsoft is still plugging away in Japan. Everything is inter-dependent.

Ive loved to play japanese games all my life, since i got my first 8 bit nintendo NES machine. Problem is, those game is not released HERE!!

Even games as xeno gears, xenosaga, etc, made in europe(i belive), is not released here, since they dont belive japanese games got a market.

What i expect, is getting the "pony poopy" treatment with japanese game as usual(sorry if my way of expressing this is offending anyone, just want to tell how annoying it is), and we are supposed to play shooters, shooters, shooters, and more shooters.

I hate shooter games for consoles... I want games as Tekken, Virtua fighter, final fantasy, xenogears, etc. Mechs, anime style, and the gamers i know locally, enjoy same mix of games as americans do, who usually GET those japanese games, in some cases.

What is more , the regions in europe, and the differences, mean its no coherency in them. Its like calling Japan, vietnam, china, and burma a single marked with no much differences.

 

[kyetech]

Excuse my ignorance, but why is it so important who "wins" on a global scale? Even if Microsoft does end up with more sold units with Europe and US compared to Sony in all 3 territories - I don't think that would change my support for the PlayStation brand, given my favorite developers still support my console of choice.

For an example; It's a bit like comparing DS to the PSP. The DS dwarfs the PSP in sales, yet as a PSP supporter (well, actually, I don't have one ), I still wouldn't buy a DS simply because the software doesn't interest me. I guess one could say they are two different markets. If I get a DS, it won't be at the expence of a PSP and solely for the software that makes DS special and a unique purchase.

.

I think the point is that it forces developers to rethink who they are going to support, not so much the individual. Japan devs may after the x360 feel obliged to work more with the console if the global units sold looks attractive, which may in turn bring the japs on board by default, due to devs jumping on the 'we can sell loads on this console' bandwagon?

 

[blakjedi]

Ha i guess i'm not the only one thinking in terms of balance of power

http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/ps3/square-enix-and-others-undecided-on-ps3-exclusivity-203303.php

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Square Enix and Others Undecided on PS3 Exclusivity
The Wall Street Journal has an interesting story up outlining the challenges facing the Playstation 3 as we near the start of what will likely become one of the most heated consoles wars to date.

Besides the obvious, delays, costs, technological set-backs, Sony's also facing a pretty major challenge from its once faithful third-party developers.

I think that Michihiro Sasaki, senior vice president of Square Enix, summarizes the issue best.

""We don't want the PlayStation 3 to be the overwhelming loser, so we want to support them," says Michihiro Sasaki, senior vice president of Square Enix. "But we don't want them to be the overwhelming winner either, so we can't support them too much."

He goes on to say that while he's planning on developing the "most advanced Final Fantasy game" for the PS3, they still haven't decided which console will get Kingdom Hearts, once a Playstation mainstay.

It's kind of fascinating to watch the game developers try to tinker with the console balance of power through strategic game release. I suspect, it could very easily blow up in their collective faces. I've always held that the more consoles there are out there the better off the entire industry is. In nosing around this topic, I get the sense from the big three console makers, that they feel the same way: None of them want to see the others fail so miserably they leave the fight, they want to be first out of three.

Brian Crecente

Kingdom hearts on 360 will make l-b a believer!

 

[Nesh]

Ha i guess i'm not the only one thinking in terms of balance of power

http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/ps3/square-enix-and-others-undecided-on-ps3-exclusivity-203303.php



Kingdom hearts on 360 will make l-b a believer!

Man I ll be pissed of if they make it exclusive to 360. They should atleast release it for both because I dont have the money to get both a PS3 and a 360 to play the games I want

RELEASE IT FOR BOTH YOU BASTARDS

Anyways I think SquareEnix may release it on the PS3 at the end since if I am not mistaken Kingdom Hearts was a very welcomed title in Japan and 360 doesnt have a big userbase over there

 

[standing ovation]

To win Europe you will need those Japanese games. To get those Japanese games you need to woo those Japanese developers. To woo those Japanese developers you need to make a concerted effort in Japan. This is the reason why Microsoft is still plugging away in Japan. Everything is inter-dependent.

Given an opportunity, European developers are quite capable of stunning the world. And do you know what? The same can be said of game makers on other continents.

Obviously, Japanese development isn't the only benediction. :neutral:

 

[Cheezdoodles]

To win Europe you will need those Japanese games.

no to win Europe you need to make the Fifa and PES series exclusive to your console.

Thats insta-win in europe.

 

[rabidrabbit]

And F1, and rally games.

 

[Phil]

1) Japanese developer support of "western" consoles is mediocre.. with the exception of capcom (sega being only shell of what they once were) Japanese developers with major franchises tend to stay on the japanese consoles.

Japanese developer support of "western" consoles is mediocre only because "western" consoles are doing mediocre in the primary region of those Japanese developers: Japan. I really don't think there's as much bias at play here than it is a simple logical business decision. Supporting consoles (especially new ones and in the transition into next-gen) is always a risk factor and an investment.

At the very least make your best franchises multiplatform and place your niche franchises where you think they'd sell best... I hat ethe idea of buying a PS3 just to play MGS when it could be on more consoles ala Splinter Cell.... I understand however why Ninja Theory specifically choose a single console to focus on for their product.

...

I'm not necessarily a brand supporter but I do enjoy great games... what reason other than mythical loyalty do devs have for supporting one console over another is real question... to me it boils down to sales and if Xbox has enough sales throughout the world they wont have to depend make it or break it IPs like we see happening now.

Multiplatform titles rarely scratch the surface of what's possible on a console though. I'd rather have a 100% dedicated version than an half-assed multi-platform title that sole purpouse is to run on all consoles well. If all developers would make multi-platform titles, we wouldn't be far from what we have in the PC industry at the moment. What a shame if we have all these impressive hardware specs that companies even sell at a loss and they're not even used to their full potential.....

 

[London Geezer]

Ha i guess i'm not the only one thinking in terms of balance of power

http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/ps3/square-enix-and-others-undecided-on-ps3-exclusivity-203303.php



Kingdom hearts on 360 will make l-b a believer!

You know it! If somehow KH makes it to 360 and it's exclusive, then not only it will mean MS will sell one more 360 here in the UK (to me), but it will also mean that the 360 would have a lot more interesting games on it, which is even better.

 

[London Geezer]

Man I ll be pissed of if they make it exclusive to 360. They should atleast release it for both because I dont have the money to get both a PS3 and a 360 to play the games I want

RELEASE IT FOR BOTH YOU BASTARDS

Anyways I think SquareEnix may release it on the PS3 at the end since if I am not mistaken Kingdom Hearts was a very welcomed title in Japan and 360 doesnt have a big userbase over there

Very true, Square will always think of Japan first, so if we do see KH on 360, then it will mean that by then the 360 will be very strong in Japan. Don't see it happening to be honest, it makes much more sense to keep KH on Playstation.

 

[London Geezer]

no to win Europe you need to make the Fifa and PES series exclusive to your console.

Thats insta-win in europe.

Well Fifa will never be Exclusive to anything. Heck, if EA could, they would still release their latest FIFA games on NES!

Europeans also eat racing games for breakfast. We just love them. Especially the Italians.

 

[avaya]

Given an opportunity, European developers are quite capable of stunning the world. And do you know what? The same can be said of game makers on other continents.

Obviously, Japanese development isn't the only benediction. :neutral:

What has that got to do with anything? You still require the Final Fantasy's, Metal Gear's, Devil May Cry's, Resident Evil's, Ridge Racer's and Tekken's.

Those franchises have massive pulling power.

no to win Europe you need to make the Fifa and PES series exclusive to your console.

Thats insta-win in europe.

You missed Gran Turismo, and those various movie-game tie-ins which seem to be oddly popular throughout the UK....actually that may just be a UK phenomena!

 

[Johnny Awesome]

I generally agree that Europe will be the big battleground this generation. I still think MS is going to outsell Sony in NA by a small margin and Sony will outsell MS by a gigantic margin in Japan. Europe is where the generation will be effectively won or lost. I think Sony will win world-wide, but MS might be a close second if they can win Europe.

 

[bleon]

IF Square Enix are undecided about which platform gets KH, then they're probably unsure whether to make it a Wii title or not. I can't see the 360 getting a look in, since historically, SE software support and allegiance has been Sony first, Nintendo second and MS last. KH could be a good match with the Wii demographic, and there has never been a successful "kids" title on an Xbox console.

 

[standing ovation]

What has that got to do with anything? You still require the Final Fantasy's, Metal Gear's, Devil May Cry's, Resident Evil's, Ridge Racer's and Tekken's.

It's got everything to do with it!

YOU said that European audiences will be lulled by Japanese games. I'm saying that couldn’t be further from the truth. To win the hearts and minds of the EU (and the rest of the world for that matter), we will need more ingenuity than sequels can provide.

Sure. Killer apps can blossom in Japan -- but they aren't indigenous there.

Those franchises have massive pulling power.

Thanks to longevity and rabid fans, the most popular franchises have incredible mindshare. But this isn't necessarily mirrored in sales.

 

[avaya]

It's got everything to do with it!

YOU said that European audiences will be lulled by Japanese games. I'm saying that couldn’t be further from the truth. To win the hearts and minds of the EU (and the rest of the world for that matter), we will need more ingenuity than sequels can provide.

Sure. Killer apps can blossom in Japan -- but they aren't indigenous there.



Thanks to longevity and rabid fans, the most popular franchises have incredible mindshare. But this isn't necessarily mirrored in sales.

Your whole proposition was based on ignoring Japan altogether. Your last words basically re-iterate my point that you still need those Japanese games on your console to win in Europe, those games alone won't do it but they count for a heck of a lot. You won't do it without them. You can't ignore any territory and expect to lead this industry. Microsoft's efforts in Japan maybe failing but the fact they are still going at it sends out a clear message to Japanese developers that they are serious and they have a presence.

 

[Teasy]

Europe has ALWAYS been a liability. Different TV system (in the PAL/NTSC days, which is still valid today!), different electrical voltage or whatever it is, loads of different languages, loads of different laws and tax systems (VERY important!!), distribution issues due to there being so many different countries involved...
It's always been a mess.

Europe can hardly be described as a liability considering its the second biggest region and far more profitable per sale. Also if segmented countries, laws, taxes and languages is the reason for Europe getting worse treatment then Japan and the US then what's the excuse for the UK getting the worst screwing of all? The biggest market in Europe (around half the size of Japan and growing far faster) and all one language, tax, currency and laws.

 

[Ty]

Also if segmented countries, laws, taxes and languages is the reason for Europe getting worse treatment then Japan and the US then what's the excuse for the UK getting the worst screwing of all?

Everyone hates the Brits? Oh wait, that's the French.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Also if segmented countries, laws, taxes and languages is the reason for Europe getting worse treatment then Japan and the US then what's the excuse for the UK getting the worst screwing of all?

They still hold our Enlightening Empire against us It's tough at the top That's why we can empathise with Sony