Reasonable said:
I can offer a couple of guesses... 1) Xbox brand was really weak in Europe at time of 360 launch and I think for a lot of people the idea of MS (the Windows/Office company) offering hardware and a games console at that just made them go 'huh?'
2) by the time 360 was seeing some traction, mainly in UK where I think the basic brand was strongest at launch, RROD reared its head, and at least on the evidence it would seem that in Europe peoples appetite to accept the failure rate (even with an extended warranty) was a fair way behind US
3) a lot of 360 focus is Live and online MP shooters (look at the figures for Halo 3, Gears and COD4 online, its massive!) and in many European countries the PC owned that market not consoles. 360 was seen as another 'poor man's PC' just like the Xbox before it
4) I doubt this was a major influencer but in general I think MS reputation here is a little lower than in US, and with MS getting lots of fines/news coverage for anti-competition laws in Europe the 360 was/is operating under that brand perception cloud
5) I also think while BR is nice its probably hindered the console more than its helped it in Europe (at least until now). If BR sales increase it will become a selling point 360 doesn't have and so I see this more as a future boost waiting to happen for the PS3
Really, given brand perception, if PS3 had been less powerful and launched with a lower price and the latest Jak, Sly, etc. games it would probably be giving the Wii a run for its money and would have crushed 360 in Europe. Luckily for MS its focus on new IP, shooters and online has both gone down well with some but also I think given it similar issues to 360 - albeit with a better brand to minimise impact. The 360 is a very good console with very good games, but I think there is no denying that its core offering actually isn't as strong in Europe as US due to continued PC market for online/shooters, brand perception and its percieved failure rate (i.e. it doesn't matter if it does or doesn't suffer from RROD anymore, most people assume it does and therefore buy accordingly).
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Great points. Yeah I could see all of these points impacting the sales of 360. Looking at history, Europian market is always trcky to figure out. But if the main perception is that the xbox is a low end pc, shooter box console ...that generalization is wrong. Looking at xbox live games and all the RPGs and different types of games coming out...perhaps 360 doesn't market it self properly in Europe.
thats another thing, I do not know what kind of marketing is being done in Europe. Perhaps the ps3 ads in Europe are far more effective than the ones shown in the States. Hence it has the "coolness" factor...
I honestly don't think loyalty has much to do with it as both Sega Genesis and Master System dominated Europe but when Sega Saturn came out it wasn't given any public support what so ever.
