XBox 360 launched in Japan

[Phil]

Of course it's possible, Blue Dragon is the 8th most wanted game on japan on ANY SYSTEM.

Is it so hard to imagine a big hit RPG like BD selling a million copies over the course of a year?

8th most anticipated game

I mean you might have a point if Japanese seemed indifferent to Sakaguchi, but BD started at 16th most anticipated, slowly rose to 12, and now sits as the 8th most anticipated game in japan. Obviously there are literally MILLIONS of japanese gamers who want to play BlueDragon.

Do you have a link to that survey where millions of Japanese gamers joined and voted for that game? I find that very hard to believe.

 

[scooby_dooby]

It's on Famitsu's most wanted list, it has been for a long time. I don't know how many people vote for that list, but it must be alot if these guys are buying 500,000 DS's every single week. No link right now sorry.

 

[Tahir2]

I would say the launch in all three territories has been a failure and Japan is a failure for the additional reason that it is not selling well at all.

 

[scooby_dooby]

1. Final Fantasy XII (PS2, Square Enix)
2. Mother 3 (GBA, Nintendo)
3. Metal Gear Solid 4 : Guns of the Patriots (PS3, Konami)
4. Resident Evil 5 (PS3, Capcom)
5. Monster Hunter 2 (PS2, Capcom)
6. Kimi Kiss (PS2, Enterbrain)
7. Final Fantasy III (NDS, Square Enix)
8. Blue Dragon (Xbox 360, Microsoft)
9. Sengoku Musou 2 (PS2, Koei)
10. The Legend of Zelda (GC, Nintendo)
11. Devil Summoner : Kuzunoha Raidou (PS2, Atlus)
12. Dead or Alive 4 (Xbox 360, Tecmo)
13. Dirge of Cerberus : Final Fantasy VII (PS2, Square Enix)
14. Suikoden V (PS2, Konami)
15. Xenosaga Episode III (PS2, Namco)
16. Onimusha Dawn of Dreams (PS2, Capcom)
17. Ar tonelico (PS2, Banpresto)
18. Front Mission 5 (PS2, Square Enix)
19. Gyakutan Saiban 4 (NDS, Capcom)
20. Okami (PS2, Capcom)
http://www.jeux-france.com/news13862_famitsu-most-wanted-09-12-15-12-.html

it's worth pointing out this is for the 15th of Dec, that's before the BD clips that we've all seen were released, I wonder where it sits now after the TV advertising campaign, and official unveiling.

 

[one]

New console launch and the holiday season are 2 good things, so it's safe to assume it's hard to surpass the sales in holiday launch later. If the install base is too small, Japanese developers can't develop things like crappy Japan-only games without sizable money incentives from MS. Not only those small developers pull the plug, it will influence decisions of big guys like SquareEnix as the company said in the last year they'd decide the platform of their franchises before the next E3.

Of course it's possible, Blue Dragon is the 8th most wanted game on japan on ANY SYSTEM.

You believe Famitsu and its readers poll? They sell one magazine, titled "Famitsu Xbox" (renamed "Famitsu Xbox 360"), even though only 100 people buy the Xbox in a week in Japan. How can they manage to do it? I don't know

 

[Phil]

It's on Famitsu's most wanted list

ROFL, Okay. Again, I very much doubt that this would be even close to a million, given that not many people generally participate in surveys in magazines. If I am not mistaken, larger surveys conducted by Famitsu on console hardware etc were in the few hundred thousands max.

At the very least, those that voted in favour of BD are the few hundred thousand customers that are hardcore gamers and walked home with a Xbox360.

Either way, I wouldn't put much faith into such polls/surveys, especially inspite of the remarkably bad start Xbox360 had in Japan which really can't be any good publicity for potential future customers.

 

[Lysander]

Microsoft comptait sur la sortie Dead or Alive 4 pour booster les ventes de Xbox 360 au Japon. Le pari est perdu puisque seulement 60.000 exemplaires du titre se sont écoulés sur le sol nippon. Le jeu phare de Tecmo se retrouve donc 13ème dans le top des ventes diffusé par Media Create, bien loin derrière le rush des jeux Nintendo DS occupant la majorité de ce classement. On signalera également que 10.000 consoles se sont vendues sur une période de 7 jours, un chiffre en légère augmentation grâce à la sortie de Dead or Alive 4.

http://www.playerone.be/news_details.php?id_news=4270

According to the Japanese hardware and software sale charts this week, the Xbox 360 is more popular in Japan than it was last week...after the release of Dead or Alive 4.

Dead or Alive 4 came straight in at 4th last week on the software charts, but has dropped to 11th this week, after a large amount of Nintendo DS games pushed it down the list.

However, the hardware chart tells a completely different story, as the Xbox 360 has sold more than double the amount it did last week, bringing in 12,300 units sold this week, in comparison to the 5,674 sold last week. However, with the 360 STILL not hitting the 100,000 sales mark in Japan, it's quite easy to say that Microsoft have still not cracked the Japanese market!

Maybe more great Japanese games will bring it up? Then again, maybe Microsoft should forget about the Japanese and start making more PAL units for the European demand that isn't being met!

http://www.360monster.com/newspost.php?id=0000000274

 

[Sis]

New console launch and the holiday season are 2 good things, so it's safe to assume it's hard to surpass the sales in holiday launch later. If the install base is too small, Japanese developers can't develop things like crappy Japan-only games without sizable money incentives from MS. Not only those small developers pull the plug, it will influence decisions of big guys like SquareEnix as the company said in the last year they'd decide the platform of their franchises before the next E3.

This is well known and really relates back to "if the launch isn't a success than the console fails." There're still a couple wild cards in the deck; I think that's all anyone is suggesting.

You believe Famitsu and its readers poll? They sell one magazine, titled "Famitsu Xbox" (renamed "Famitsu Xbox 360"), even though only 100 people buy the Xbox in a week in Japan. How can they manage to do it? I don't know

Instead of hinting that the only reason Blue Dragon is #8 is because MS paid them, you should just come out and say it directly.

.Sis

 

[Sis]

ROFL, Okay. Again, I very much doubt that this would be even close to a million, given that not many people generally participate in surveys in magazines. If I am not mistaken, larger surveys conducted by Famitsu on console hardware etc were in the few hundred thousands max.

At the very least, those that voted in favour of BD are the few hundred thousand customers that are hardcore gamers and walked home with a Xbox360.

Either way, I wouldn't put much faith into such polls/surveys, especially inspite of the remarkably bad start Xbox360 had in Japan which really can't be any good publicity for potential future customers.

Agreed, the poll is just an indicator of interest. The fact that DOA4 is only four places lower and yet hasn't done a hell of a lot for the console should indicate that it's sort of meaningless.

That said, surely you agree that the circumstances are different this time with the Xbox 360, given the handful of high profile Japanese titles? It may not matter in the long run, but I just can't agree that it won't matter at all.

.Sis

 

[one]

8. Blue Dragon (Xbox 360, Microsoft)
9. Sengoku Musou 2 (PS2, Koei)
10. The Legend of Zelda (GC, Nintendo)
11. Devil Summoner : Kuzunoha Raidou (PS2, Atlus)
12. Dead or Alive 4 (Xbox 360, Tecmo)
http://www.jeux-france.com/news13862_famitsu-most-wanted-09-12-15-12-.html

it's worth pointing out this is for the 15th of Dec, that's before the BD clips that we've all seen were released, I wonder where it sits now after the TV advertising campaign, and official unveiling.

I think you should also note, DOA4 at the 12th, sold under 60K.

This is well known and really relates back to "if the launch isn't a success than the console fails." There're still a couple wild cards in the deck; I think that's all anyone is suggesting.

Well, the headstart is the heart of the Microsoft strategy in this generation, right? I assume not everyone forgets it.

 

[Sis]

Well, the headstart is the heart of the Microsoft strategy in this generation, right? I assume not everyone forgets it.

Unless they expected to sell a million units before the PS3 arrives in Japan, then no, I don't believe starting strong out of the gates in Japan was part of the headstart plan. (My reasoning, if it isn't obvious, is that the PS3 will likely sell a million units in the first weekend in Japan washing away any headstart there.)

Unless I'm missing something, it would really surprise me if MS didn't realize they'd be competing head-to-head with the PS3.

.Sis

 

[scooby_dooby]

DOA4 will continue to sell units, and it will add up to much more than 60k so lets not play stupid little games.

DOA is just one game, the titles need to accumulate before anyone is going to slap down $400, they don't have faith with 360 like they will with PS3.

Right now you have DOA and RR6(maybe), by the time BD hits they will have some more games like Dead Rising, Chromehounds, Ninety Nine Nights, Enchant Arm etc, add in BD put all the games together and you have a much more compelling system.

If I were a japanese I would want at least 2 solid RPG's and a good collection of solid japanese titles before I'd commit to xbox 360.

edit - it should also be noted that BD has surpassed DOA4 despite being months away from release, having no release footage of the game, or marketing campaign in japan. DOA4 is also not an RPG.

 

[scooby_dooby]

ROFL, Okay. Again, I very much doubt that this would be even close to a million, given that not many people generally participate in surveys in magazines. If I am not mistaken, larger surveys conducted by Famitsu on console hardware etc were in the few hundred thousands max.

At the very least, those that voted in favour of BD are the few hundred thousand customers that are hardcore gamers and walked home with a Xbox360.

Either way, I wouldn't put much faith into such polls/surveys, especially inspite of the remarkably bad start Xbox360 had in Japan which really can't be any good publicity for potential future customers.

It doesn't matter. I said there are at millions of gamers that want to 'play' Blue Dragon. That poll proves this, if BD can get hundreds of thousands of votes in a poll, it stands to reason that there are many others who also want to play the game, who did not partake in the poll.

Now I didn't say they would buy a 360 for BD, I said they want to play it, they are at least interested.

So you can't count it out, when a system is bringing in a game that ranks higher than Zelda, and only a few spots below RE5, and also happens to be an RPG, you can't count that out as a major killer app and system seller.

 

[Edge]

Hard to believe that people think that all the Xbox 360 needs is a few RPG's released, and the 360 will become a success in Japan. And if we are not talking about 360's success in Japan, this discussion is meaningless.

A few RPG's is not going to be enough for the 360 to become a success in Japan. They will need a couple dozen to even get people thinking about the console. Buying it, is still another matter.

 

[Sis]

A few RPG's is not going to be enough for the 360 to become a success in Japan. They will need a couple dozen to even get people thinking about the console. Buying it, is still another matter.

Probably not. But they are coming out and they could have an effect...more so than DOA.

The bottom line is it's a differentiating factor for this generation for Microsoft and should be accounted for when declaring victory or failure in Japan.

.Sis

 

[scooby_dooby]

What we're talking about is the 360 building a large enough userbase in japan that japanese DEVELOPERS feel safe releasing games for it, in addition we're talking about MS proving that JRPG's can sell well on 360. This will increase 360's global portfolio and diversity in games, which will lead to greater overall success for the console.

If BD sell millions worldwide, this will prove to all Japanese Dev's that 360 is a viable platform for JRPG's and it will get more cross-platform support, and will also increase marketshare in japan and slowly build consumer confidence, or at least that the plan...

It's a snowball effect MS is looking for here:
release some high quality JRPG's > prove they can sell well and make money > gain more japanese marketshare > gain more japanese developer support > gain more market share > more dev support ... etc

The effects of BD and Lost Odyseey are 2-pronged,
1. they should sell consoles and re-establish consumer faith within the japanese market.
2. they should demonstrate to the japanese developer community(through their worldwide sales) that there is a market for their games(RPG), and money to be made by using 360's large worldwide installed base, thus increasing japanese support and the cycle continues...

Now, for these things to work they have to be truly excellent games. So we can only wait and see. If they are truly excellent, I see no reason this stretegy won't work fairly well...

 

[Powderkeg]

Hard to believe that people think that all the Xbox 360 needs is a few RPG's released, and the 360 will become a success in Japan. And if we are not talking about 360's success in Japan, this discussion is meaningless.

A few RPG's is not going to be enough for the 360 to become a success in Japan. They will need a couple dozen to even get people thinking about the console. Buying it, is still another matter.

I don't suppose you could define precisely what "success" in Japan would be for Microsoft, could you?

Perhaps a hard figure on precisely how many units they would have to sell by the end of the generation to be considered successful in that market. Could you give me that?


And BTW, I'm wanting the numbers that MS would consider a success, not some made up Sony ****** numbers.

 

[Sis]

It's a snowball effect MS is looking for here:
release some high quality JRPG's > prove they can sell well and make money > gain more japanese marketshare > gain more japanese support > gain more market share ... etc

The effects of BD and Lost Odyseey are 2-pronged,
1. they should sell consoles and re-establish consumer faith within the japanese market.
2. they should demonstrate to the japanese developer community(through their worldwide sales) that there is a market for their games(RPG), and money to be made by using 360's large worldwide installed base, thus increasing japanese support and the cycle continues...

I would add a third: it ties up some high profile developers, diverting their work from appearing on Sony's platform.

.Sis

 

[scooby_dooby]

Yes, very true. Not having Mistwalker working for Sony was surely a very nice 'bonus' :smile:

 

[Shifty Geezer]

That poll proves this, if BD can get hundreds of thousands of votes in a poll

Where are the figures for number of votes?