From what I understand the original XBox launch in japan generated a lot of ill will among the japanese people. There was a game that instead of translating all the text to japanese, they just removed it. In general, localization was poor and the device wasn't designed for japanese people. The original controller didn't comfortably fit in their (or anyone's) hands, and it was at least twice as big as the PS2, which is an important consideration in tiny japanese apartments. Oh, and none of the games appealed to the japanese (There's a reason all the great shooters come from the US)
This opinion is slowly starting to change, it's hard to convince an entire population that your product isn't absolute junk
Wii has more 20 million sellers than PS3 has 5 million sellers.
Acolyte of Disruption
