Why Xbox 360 Failed to Take Over the Competition in Japan

Unattractive design. Big and heavy console. Only a few titles to choose from.

These are just some of the reasons why Xbox 360 is not faring so well in what could be the gaming capital of the world, Japan. Unlike the first Xbox which sold 123,000 units on its first three days on sale, Xbox 360 did not have the same lucky fate. It has only sold the same number of units since its release last December.

According to Ichiro Ookawa, manager of Sofmap (an electronics retailer in Tokyo’s Akihabara district), the Xbox 360 is not selling as much units because it “is not attractive… it’s big and heavy.” And since the consoles are not in demand, software makers have been apprehensive about creating new titles. Since Japanese gaming fans were looking forward to having as much “must-have” Japanese games as possible, they were disappointed with only the handful of Japanese software titles released for Xbox 360. Thus, they opted for the handheld gaming consoles offered by Nintendo and Sony.

There were other reasons that contributed to the unsuccessful Xbox 360 entry in the Japanese market. But as KBC Securities analyst Hiroshi Kamide says, “”The long and short of it is that it’s not a good enough product for users [in Japan] to switch over [from Sony].”

But the Xbox 360 Japan slump does not discourage the Microsoft group. The company is planning to hold a convention in Tokyo on April 6 to announce the release of new game titles for Xbox 360. It is rumored that the release date for Mistwalker’s Blue Dragon by famous game producer Hironobu Sakaguchi will be announced on the convention.

Xbox 360 may still have a chance at overtaking the more dominant Playstation, as Sony decided to delay the release of the PS3 in Japan.
Unattractive design. Big and heavy console. Only a few titles to choose from.

These are just some of the reasons why Xbox 360 is not faring so well in what could be the gaming capital of the world, Japan. Unlike the first Xbox which sold 123,000 units on its first three days on sale, Xbox 360 did not have the same lucky fate. It has only sold the same number of units since its release last December.

According to Ichiro Ookawa, manager of Sofmap (an electronics retailer in Tokyo’s Akihabara district), the Xbox 360 is not selling as much units because it “is not attractive… it’s big and heavy.” And since the consoles are not in demand, software makers have been apprehensive about creating new titles. Since Japanese gaming fans were looking forward to having as much “must-have” Japanese games as possible, they were disappointed with only the handful of Japanese software titles released for Xbox 360. Thus, they opted for the handheld gaming consoles offered by Nintendo and Sony.

There were other reasons that contributed to the unsuccessful Xbox 360 entry in the Japanese market. But as KBC Securities analyst Hiroshi Kamide says, “”The long and short of it is that it’s not a good enough product for users [in Japan] to switch over [from Sony].”

But the Xbox 360 Japan slump does not discourage the Microsoft group. The company is planning to hold a convention in Tokyo on April 6 to announce the release of new game titles for Xbox 360. It is rumored that the release date for Mistwalker’s Blue Dragon by famous game producer Hironobu Sakaguchi will be announced on the convention.

Xbox 360 may still have a chance at overtaking the more dominant Playstation, as Sony decided to delay the release of the PS3 in Japan.