Media Create Sales Numbers for 7/30 to 8/5

[king_of_the_castle]

your mother said:

Bodhesatva said:

Mrstickball, and others: Just so people can see there is a flip side, examine this link.

http://kotaku.com/gaming/import-multi_tap/2chan-explains-why-japan-hates-xbox-360-280004.php?mail2=true

Explaining why the Xbox brand has not met Microsoft's expectations. Among the reasons are as follows:

"Its image is Western games and boob volleyball. With that, how are you supposed to buy it?"

"Foreigners are satisfied only with killing. Japanese are not that stupid."

Apparently, many Japanese see us Western Gamers as obsessed with Sex and Violence, and even call us stupid. Is that fair? Perhaps not, but it shows that it really does work both ways. The suggestion that we play "good" games and they play "stupid" ones (again, direct quote from Stickball) is precisely reversed by Japan -- many see our games as stupid. That doesn't make them right and us wrong, it means that it's a matter of perception and you shouldn't behave as if the games you tend to prefer are inherently better or smarter.

 

When I had a Japanese NES, I played that first Konami baseball game - the one with fat, short players (not unlike Miis) - and the game was awesome.

I then moved, and got a US NES - and bought that game again. Realistic people! Everything about the gameplay was the same except the look and feel of the players.

Both games are awesome - because apart from the cosmetic difference, they are the same game.

Suggesting that the Japanese have poor taste because they prefer short and fat ballplayers that look like Russian babushka dolls doesn't mean Western cultures have any better taste because they prefer realism.

It's just a matter of perspective, and in that regard, Microsoft could be doing much better catering to the wants of the Japanese demographic. If Microsoft managed to do that and sell even 1/2 as much as the PS3 in Japan, they would actually be sitting pretty in the console wars.

It's easier to go to the mountain than it is to have the mountain come to you. 

That's a great way to put it.  MS is trying harder this time around with some dedicated titles like BD, ES, and LO, but these are just RPG's, and while they are pretty good for the most part, there's a lot more MS could do to not only gain ground in the JP region, but in the casual market as well.  Scene-it I think shows that MS has no clue how to do this.  They need games that are a little more "cutesy" (not kiddy), and at least some ripoff of brain training.  There's no reason they couldn't make a few of these and put them on XBL as $5 downloads.  Sports is a great example, they could easily make a game similar to Wii sports or HSG, these aren't intensely graphical, real physics, simulations of sports, they take sports and make them accessable to people who don't follow the PGA or MLB or whatever.  I'm sure there's better examples, but I think this thread has hit the nail on the head of why MS is losing Japan, but there are some simple things they could do to help out their situation.