The XBox 360 in Japan – Exercise in Futility?

Despite Bill Gates‘ heroic efforts, careful planning and market analysis, teamwork with U.S., European and Japanese engineers AND special deals with some major game publishers, his baby – the XBox 360 – is not going over well in Japan.

Why should the world’s wealthiest and most successful entrepreneur experience such dismal failure in a country where video gaming is practically a national obsession? It’s a bit of a mystery, but here’s some hints.

The launch date: 10 December, 2005. This was probably not the best choice, possibly because Christmas is more of a Western holiday. Japan is a society in which only a small percent of the population is Christian, and although the holiday is observed by most Japanese of all faiths, it is quite different. Gift exchange is a very small part of it, and is mainly between couples “going steady,” who exchange small items of an intimate or “cute” nature.

Another reason: a initially weak game selection. Ridge Racer 6? Tetris?!? Every Party…? Even Dead or Alive 4 was delayed, leading to a mere 100,000 units sold by January.

There’s hope – while the initial launch was lackluster, some better games now in the pipeline could pull sales figures up. If Microsoft can get the Japanese gaming heavyweights on board with the XBox 360 platform, the coming months might show a comeback.

Via UK.XBox360.IGN

Despite Bill Gates‘ heroic efforts, careful planning and market analysis, teamwork with U.S., European and Japanese engineers AND special deals with some major game publishers, his baby – the XBox 360 – is not going over well in Japan.

Why should the world’s wealthiest and most successful entrepreneur experience such dismal failure in a country where video gaming is practically a national obsession? It’s a bit of a mystery, but here’s some hints.

The launch date: 10 December, 2005. This was probably not the best choice, possibly because Christmas is more of a Western holiday. Japan is a society in which only a small percent of the population is Christian, and although the holiday is observed by most Japanese of all faiths, it is quite different. Gift exchange is a very small part of it, and is mainly between couples “going steady,” who exchange small items of an intimate or “cute” nature.

Another reason: a initially weak game selection. Ridge Racer 6? Tetris?!? Every Party…? Even Dead or Alive 4 was delayed, leading to a mere 100,000 units sold by January.

There’s hope – while the initial launch was lackluster, some better games now in the pipeline could pull sales figures up. If Microsoft can get the Japanese gaming heavyweights on board with the XBox 360 platform, the coming months might show a comeback.

Via UK.XBox360.IGN