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Forums - Sales Discussion - why is the 360 so bad in japan?

Auron on 28 November 2007

maybe fkusumot can back me up on this since he is Japanese. I went for a semester at sophia university with a bunch of my American classmates 2 years ago and we were treated great. When we went to a club or out to eat we got treated well and saw many American brands around. This is Tokyo i am referring to so i might not be the same elsewhere. It's not cause the X-box is American but for another reason which i cannot say conclusively.



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FinalEvangelion on 28 November 2007

The nickname for the Xbox in Japan was "Batsu Bako." It literally means "X Box," but implies "wrong box." There are a couple more insulting terms for it as well.

People there really did not like the original Xbox at all. MS completely missed the mark with the design. It would be equivalent to GM and Ford trucks, which Americans only like.



"Naturally the common people don't want war: Neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, IT IS THE LEADERS of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is TELL THEM THEY ARE BEING ATTACKED, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. IT WORKS THE SAME IN ANY COUNTRY."  --Hermann Goering, leading Nazi party member, at the Nuremberg War Crime Trials 

 

Conservatives:  Pushing for a small enough government to be a guest in your living room, or even better - your uterus.

 

DeltaXIII on 28 November 2007
thermal7 said:

I have been living in Japan for about 9 months and I know the culture pretty well.  The article Itsamii posted counters many of the statements in this thread, but here is my own take.

> They don't like American companies / patriotism

  American companies are huge over here. The Japanese culture has a huge fascination with America. I think the brand power of most American companies is even stronger in Japan.  As mentioned in the article the iPod sells very well here.

 > The don't like Microsoft

 Japan is one of Microsoft Windows strongest markets.  There is a lot of negativety towards Microsoft (BSOD, Evil company) in the western world which to a large degree doesn't exist in Japan.

 > The Japanese are brand Elitist.  They buy things to show off.

Whilst it is true the Japanese do favor brands more than other countries, it's not like everyone is like this. Like my own country Australia, there is a percentage of people who wear clothes because of the brand and are shallow. This percentage is greater in Japan, but it is still a small subset of society.  It is mostly girls and generally these people don't buy video games anyway.

It is true that people are more focused on appearance than most other countries.  However, this is not about brand, it is just about being appealing/cool to others.  I think it ties into a general cultural sensitivity to what other people think.  It is also partly due to the Japanese focus on doing your best, whether its what you wear or your job or anything. However, this doesn't impact video games sales.  People are not self-conscious to the degree that they want their living rooms to only show the most publically accepted brands.  So basically I don't think this relates at all.

-------

So why then?

I think the reasons are very simple and equally applicable to other markets.

The Xbox is branded at the American market. It is supposed to appear powerful/masculine/ferocious.  There is the whole theme of its raw green radioactive power glowing from within.  The Japanese culture is not very masculine at all.  The celebrities are easily mistakable for girls with their very thin frames, styled hair and luscious lips.  Further more, as such a technological society, they are further along the style curve than America.  I would say they have grown out of the alienware style powerful looking hardware, i they ever were attracted to it.

They prefer simple and aesthetic styles with the feeling of refinement.  I mean not even refinement, the feeling of perfection.  Just look at the wii or the DS and you can see what they go for.

The Xbox original was even further marketed towards American tastes and did not impress them.  So you have to realise that the Xbox 360 is in a way starting from scratch (or maybe even behind scratch) again this generation.

And of course the games, the Japanese aren't big on FPS games which is the hallmark of the 360.

Lastly, it was always going to be an uphill battle. The Sony and Nintendo brands are very rooted in Japan, much less so than America. 

So basically it is simply the brand, the offering and the market. It really doesn't have anything to do with an anti-american bias.


 I've been here in Nagoya, Japan (the 4th largest city) for about 3 months. I would agree with what you've said in general. I agree that the general looking cool and good thing is true, but here at the university I'm studying at, certain generally more expensive brands are pretty popular and what many people seem to want. This is just at one university. but a few of my teachers have stated that it can be fairly common in the larger cities. It is somewhat amusing sometimes. Some of the Japanese people I've talked to have said they'd really like to go studying abroad, but it's too expensive. They say this while having their $300-$500 dollar purse or wallet on them.

As for an actual conversation I had with with a Japanese guy, it went something like this.
Guy:I want a PS3
Me:Oh? What games do you want?
Guy:Minna no Golf and (I don't remember the other one).
Me:What are your thoughts on the x-box 360?
Guy:I'm not very interested in Halo 3 or shooters.
Me:How about Blue Dragon or Trusty Bell?
Guy:Oh! Yeah, I want to play those.
Me:So if I buy a 360, will you buy a PS3?
Guy:No, the PS3 is more expensive. How about you buy a 360 and I'll buy games?

So it seems to largely be a perception issue still.



 

eugene on 28 November 2007

They ARE brand elitist. Its incredible. The statement about a $500 purse is very true and common. Think back to when you were in high school and you cared so much about what other people thought of you, its like that over there but everywhere. Its psychological. Brand image is huge there. I Branding is huge and its hard to break into a market that is as mature as it is in Japan.



friedtofu on 28 November 2007
fkusumot said:
eugene said:
Im actually Korean (born in America) so I have an idea of the mentality. And I go to University of Houston, which is second most multicultural school in the nation behind NYU so I see alot of cultures. Asians (especially international) are incredibly brand loyal and high maintenance.

I'm actually Japanese. I've actually lived in Japan. Would you like to extend your analysis of all things Japanese from your Korean viewpoint and tell me how it applies to our relationship?


 Im Filipino. But my fiance is Chinese and we live in Chinatown.

 And no it has nothing to do with anything. lol.  



PS360 ftw!

Currently playing..........

Gears of War 2, GTA IV Lost and Damned, Little Big Planet (Yes I said I had no interest but my girl wanted to try it and we did and now Im hooked )

 

 

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redisrad on 28 November 2007

they just want the FF13



Resistance owns!!!!!111 one!

konnichiwa on 28 November 2007

Genesis bombed in Japan with what like 3 million sales and it is Japanes. It sold a hell lot more in Europe and NA.






friedtofu on 28 November 2007

The original Xbox wasnt well recieved since it had hardly any games the Japanese were interested in, and physically was appaling. (Just plain damn ugly).

The 360 has quite a reputation to 'fix'...its happening, slowly. I do think they are gradually chipping away at that seemingly 'impenetrable market'.

 



PS360 ftw!

Currently playing..........

Gears of War 2, GTA IV Lost and Damned, Little Big Planet (Yes I said I had no interest but my girl wanted to try it and we did and now Im hooked )

 

 

im different on 29 November 2007

now everyone is just discussing if the japanese are anti american or not. what i really intented to say was how does the 360 have many more japanese exclusive games developed by japanese companies for the japanese and still have such low sales. its fact go to any game site and compare all the jrpgs and robot games and fighting games which apparently the japanese are big into and youll find the 360 has many many more than the ps3. and they actually got GOOD scores in japan. blue dragon got 37/40 lost oddysey got 36/40 at famitsu and im not familiar with scores for other japanese games but i know their not bad. so really the evidence looks like their not buying their console off of game reviews but off of brand. really the 360 is beating the ps3 this gen very badly in america because it has many critically acclaimed exclusives whereas the ps3 has little. same thing in japan but the japanese still stick with sony. even for a year when 360 was the only next gen console out it had dismal sales. maybe ms has dug themselves a hole to deep and they better just pull out of japan now cause it sure doesnt seem to be changing.

overview: the american market shifted drastically when the 360 got the games. it didnt in japan. only real reason why that could of happened is brand loyalty, or an image to horrible to fix for xbox. either way ms is never going to get japan so they might as well drop out apparently.



eugene on 29 November 2007

No, Microsoft needs to stay in Japan even if the sales are bad. Remember, part of the brand loyalty has to do with familiarity. Its a marathon, not a sprint. Imagine if Microsoft stays in for 10 years straight. They probably wont be looked at as an odd ball by then and adoption will happen faster. These are all growing pains right now for Microsoft. Xbox is not a mature brand world wide, but by the end of this generation, it will be. Xbox's third generation console wont suffer this bad world wide.