An extremely recent post by "Starcraft" raised an interesting question for me. While I don't think the PS3 is dead in the water in Japan this generation I think the 360 absolutely is and the PS3 seems to be heading that way fast. So....
| starcraft said: It was assumed early on that despite the beating both high definition console are taking from the Wii, the PS3 would eventually defeat the Xbox 360 worldwide because of Japan. Lately however, it has become abundantly clear that the PS3 (and of course the Xbox 360) are stuffed in Japan. The nation has chosen the Wii as it's console, and just a few weeks after DMC4 and a week before Yakuza 3, Sony is selling 15k units, perhaps even less. What is looking up for Sony is the situation in Europe. For some time it looked like Microsoft was successfully competing with Sony in Europe, but now that situation is changing drastically. It now appears that Japan is a lost cause for both High Definition consoles, and that if Sony's worldwide victory is to be entertained, it must be won in Europe. Does anyone have any realistic (as in doable, profitable, marketable) ways in which Sony can lift it's sales in Japan, or Microsoft can lift it's sales in Europe in such a way as to affect the second and third placings of this generation? |
...the question is then:
If Japan, a country with a far higher technology adoption rate (particularly HDTVs), is rejecting HD consoles does that spell trouble for the HD consoles in other regions this for this generation?
Before this thread turns into a crapfest let me just say the answer is FAR more complex than "yep" or "nope". And anyone who gives that simplistic of an analysis of the issue only highlights their own ignorance on this topic. Personally I don't feel I know enough about the Japanese and European cultures to build that sort of analysis properly so I'm hoping that someone who has those qualifications as well as a fair-minded approach will give it a shot.
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| To Each Man, Responsibility |
