How's XB360 gonna sell in Japan?

[Shifty Geezer]

I've just caught a run-down of launch titles, and they're shooters, racers, 1 platformer and some american sports+soccer. Seems quite a limited selection of genres, which is understandable for launch I guess, but I'm also left feeling what appeals to the Japanese customers? Are they getting some local content, or are MS launching there with the US lineup, and if so, are they really going to make any impression at all?

 

[jvd]

well japan is getting the smallest shipment and I believe if you buy at launch in japan you can sign up for the ff online beta test .

So i will think it will sell out.

Though it may take a little longer to sell out in japan than other countrys .


I think for ms its really 6 months from now that matters esp if the ps3 launches then. They need as many games as possible .

But i think all in all they can at least tripple the installed base (though thats not saying much)

 

[one]

1. DOA4
2. Ridge Racer 6
3. PDZ

judging from various outlets. PGR3 is not a launch title in Japan.
As for the Xbox 360 unit itself, well, preorder in various places is not closed as quickly as the recent NDS/PSP cases (Xbox 360 is at 26th in the Amazon.co.jp ranking as of now), which tells something I guess...

 

[<nu>faust]

has 360's japanese launch titles announced? Can you post the list? I heard that 99 night was delayed and wont make it to launch in japan(they say an early jaunuary now) but still from what i know enchant arm and ffxi is on track for the launch( as well as some other japanese games like dynasty warriors, Pro Yakyuu Spirits ,Frame City Killer, Every party etc)

 

[one]

has 360's japanese launch titles announced? Can you post the list? I heard that 99 night was delayed and wont make it to launch in japan(they say an early jaunuary now) but still from what i know enchant arm and ffxi is on track for the launch( as well as some other japanese games like dynasty warriors, Pro Yakyuu Spirits ,Frame City Killer, Every party etc)

As I cannot find the list in the official Xbox website, it's like this as far as I can collect from the web:

12/10 (launch)

RR6
eM
DOA4
Tetris
NFS:MW
PDZ
FIFA06
Every Party
FF11 (bundled with early units for the beta test)

12/22 (launch window)

Shin Sangoku Muso 4 (Dynasty Warriors 5) SP
King Kong
Wrestle Kingdom

 

[Powderkeg]

The Japanese launch lineup hasn't been announced, but it is different from the US with a couple of Japanese-specific games in it.

I expect the 360 to do a little better than the Xbox did, but I doubt it will make up over 10% of the market in Japan next gen.

 

[<nu>faust]

if ms can get next installments of "real" ff and dq, and 360's exclusive japanese games (from likes of mistwalker,q-entertainment and konami prove themselves to be huge ciritical hits , i really don't see any reason for xbox to capture less than %15-20 of the market.

 

[London Geezer]

Uhm if MS can snatch FF and DQ they'll get much more than 15-20% of the Japanese market let me reassure you... That's a big fat IF though.

 

[Xenus]

But the problem is it is not going to get those unless it does better in Japan. See the paradox.

 

[London Geezer]

But the problem is it is not going to get those unless it does better in Japan. See the paradox.

Virtual girlfriend games. Majong. Virtual kitchen games. Japanese gamers love those silly things.

Lots of things they could do

 

[scooby_dooby]

Enchant Arm
Blue Dragon
Lost Odyssey
FFXI
Far East of Ziria
Ninety Nine Nights
DOA 4
and Ninja Gaiden 360 should sell some systems.

I have no idea how it's gonna sell though, huge uphill battle.

 

[one]

Virtual girlfriend games.

Been there, done that

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Enchant Arm
Blue Dragon
Lost Odyssey
FFXI
Far East of Ziria
Ninety Nine Nights
DOA 4
and Ninja Gaiden 360 should sell some systems.

I have no idea how it's gonna sell though, huge uphill battle.

I was thinking more at launch. In a few weeks XB360's will be in store in Japan. What games will Japanese be buying with their XB360s?

By accounts it seems there are a few Japanocentric titles though and MS have actually thought a bit about this!

 

[<nu>faust]

for some reason i feel like most ppl in the west are more sceptical of 360's success in japan than most japanese. there were many statements from influential game designers such as kojima saing they feel good about 360's sucess in japan,there are 100+ being developed for the console,famitsu polls say %20 of gamers are planning to buy the console,...etc.I mean nobody inclusidng me expects ms to be the market leader in this gen(or even beat nintendo in sales) but imho not counting them as a major player is not fair. In these froums i heard so many comments from ppl (with respectable reputation) saying there is no way that ms should consider itself lucky if they can get %5 of japanese market, how there is no possible way for ms to be successful in japan,how its only gonna seel hundreds per week, i mean why the ignorance,? isn't it the truth that nobody really knows how japanese market is gonna react to 360 in the long run.

 

[Phil]

if ms can get next installments of "real" ff and dq, and 360's exclusive japanese games (from likes of mistwalker,q-entertainment and konami prove themselves to be huge ciritical hits , i really don't see any reason for xbox to capture less than %15-20 of the market.

The thing is, I see no reason Square to fully support Xbox360 unless they do make an impact - which means Microsoft will have to make an impact first before they hope for any big support. It's not the otherway around unfortunately, unless you can explain why Square-Enix would happily support a successor of a console that failed miserably. And don't name it's getting "more support" - there's no factual evidence on what "more support" will amount to. It's anyone's guess at the moment. It's up to Microsoft and its Xbox360 to prove that they can become a success and then I could see ports of the next Final Fantasy being considered.

 

[London Geezer]

Well the thing is, SquareEnix would have to do a PS1 on us. Just take the risk and go for it, support the new console and see how it goes. Worked wonders for PS1, which really took off after the announcement that FF7 would be a PS1 exclusive. Before that, the Saturn was still doing quite well in fact. Square took the plunge and POOF they drove Sony sales up by a mile - while selling millions of copies of FF games.

So, all this "proving themselves" sounds much like a big PR stunt. They have made their decision, and whatever it is, they're just trying to keep people on their toes, waiting, driving expectations up and therefore demand, so when they do come out with a real announcement and a game, LOTS of people will know about it because it will be either the game MS "couldn't get because they didn't do well enough" or "the first multiplatform FF and DQ game!!!11".

See what i mean? It's all publicity for them. They wouldn't start developing something 6 months from now. If they will develop something, they are working right now.

Or maybe i'm the only one to think so.

 

[Phil]

The thing that I'm wondering is, with Xbox360 going for DVD and PS3 with Blu-Ray and a massive storage advantage - how will this impact support by the big RPG supporters? Especially Final Fantasy's have had loads of CGI's in their games until today - though I can also see them reducing this as graphics get better, but if you think about the potential they can use with such a storage advantage - would they even bother with the bigger profile games?

 

[London Geezer]

The thing that I'm wondering is, with Xbox360 going for DVD and PS3 with Blu-Ray and a massive storage advantage - how will this impact support by the big RPG supporters? Especially Final Fantasy's have had loads of CGI's in their games until today - though I can also see them reducing this as graphics get better, but if you think about the potential they can use with such a storage advantage - would they even bother with the bigger profile games?

Well, in the PS1 games, reportedly Square went to Sony instead of Nintendo because the CD format was better for them - to put lots of FMVs in the game...

That was about 8 years ago though, things are different today, but i can see them leaning towards the bigger format just to stay well clear of disc swapping, which will get annoying very fast and have that 1992 feel to it many people forgot about.

 

[<nu>faust]

The thing is, I see no reason Square to fully support Xbox360 unless they do make an impact - which means Microsoft will have to make an impact first before they hope for any big support. It's not the otherway around unfortunately, unless you can explain why Square-Enix would happily support a successor of a console that failed miserably. And don't name it's getting "more support" - there's no factual evidence on what "more support" will amount to. It's anyone's guess at the moment. It's up to Microsoft and its Xbox360 to prove that they can become a success and then I could see ports of the next Final Fantasy being considered.

couple of months ago there were reports of some ms exec (it was robbie bach if i remember correctly)saying there will be few developers in japan who won't be required to pay royalties ,maybe s-e is one of them,wouldn't that be a big factor in s-e's decison making? most of the analyst expect next gen market to be much closer race than last gen,imho it's almost certain that sony won't have %70 of the worldwide market share like they do now. Lets say next gen market shares turned out to be (%50 sony,%25 ms, %25 nintendo) why would sq limit itself to %50 of the market even if ps3 will sell2 times more than rev &360 and be the dominant platfrom?We all know japanese market is shrinking(us market is nearly double of it),with the rising development costs japanese developers the need for sales from overseas is becoming more and more important . Plus sony's recent comments on online gaming and ms's already proven system could be another factor for s-e to pursue a multi-platform strategy ,wouldn't it? I mean i'm not saying s-e will or should support 360, they will do what ever makes sense to them but if i do certanly think that there are enough reasons to make such a move.

 

[scooby_dooby]

The thing is, I see no reason Square to fully support Xbox360 unless they do make an impact - which means Microsoft will have to make an impact first before they hope for any big support. It's not the otherway around unfortunately, unless you can explain why Square-Enix would happily support a successor of a console that failed miserably. And don't name it's getting "more support" - there's no factual evidence on what "more support" will amount to. It's anyone's guess at the moment. It's up to Microsoft and its Xbox360 to prove that they can become a success and then I could see ports of the next Final Fantasy being considered.

If SE plans to launch FF in 2007 they will more than double their worldwide audience by going cross platform. SE sells amazingly good in all regions, and making a X360 version is a guaranteed 2 or 3 million more sales in NA and EU alone.

Reason enough?