Here’s How Microsoft Is Advertising Xbox One in Japan, and it Might be Working

[Zod95]

Kresnik said:

Zod95 said:

You don't understand because you are most probably a logical consumer like me. There's no compelling reason to buy A rather than B when A and B are about the same thing for the same price. Only emotions can lead people to less rational decisions or not even to compare before deciding and thus totally disregarding option B as if it didn't exist. The end result? Some people claiming the XOne only has western games.

I'm slightly beginning to piece together the point you're arguing here, but it's still kinda tenuous...

Right now, PS4 has over XB1 in Japan:

- Cheaper multi-plats.  XB! is launching with games at full price that have already been out on PS4 for months.

- The same Japanese multi-plat future, slightly better optimized.  All the bigger games - Resident Evil; Final Fantasy; Metal Gear Solid will all come to both consoles.  But from everything we've been seeing so far, they'll run slightly better on PS4.

- The otaku ghetto.  Compile Heart are already developing for the system.  NIS; Falcom & Acquire all have pledged future support and supposedly have games in development.  Gust will soon follow suit.

- Japanese mid-tier support.  Yakuza is already on the system.  We know Gundam is coming.  We know Idolm@ster is coming.  All the Warriors games are already there.

- A history of more third party support.  PS3 vs. 360 support in Japan is like a bloodbath, really.

All I'd say that XB1 has over PS4 is:

- 5pb support.  Which can be a big deal if you're in the niche that buys their brand of VN's.

- Kinect, if you're into that kinda thing.

- A few western exclusives such as Forza & Ryse.

So you can you really say that product A and B are the same when what they're offering is so radically different?

The fact that PS4 is a Japanese-developed console will undoubtedly be a helping hand here too, but I think it's more going to help with getting developers on board in the first place (because they're going to see it as a more viable place to develop on because of Japanese tastes) then people simply buying it because it's Japanese.

Although if things were 100% exactly the same between PS4 & XB1, then I'm sure they'd choose PS4 just because it's Japanese.  That's just the way they are.  There's really not any debate to be had about that because it's not going to change no matter what you or I say.

 

Of course XB1 doesn't only have Western games.  But all they showed in this trailer was western-oriented games (because I'd argue that the Japanese games they did show are aimed at audiences in the west as much - if not more - than they're aimed at audiences in Japan).  That's the trailer they showed.  If they'd mocked up a trailer full of 5pb games then it would be different, but they didn't.

Like I said to Dr.Henry_Killinger: "I was not talking about the machines but the games. Of course the machines are different and one should opt by what he/she thinks to be the best system with the best exclusives.".

The point I'm trying to make is very simple: Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy are japanese games and are on XOne. They do exist, they are real, they are equal to the PS4 version and they prove XOne is not only about western games. It's that simple.

For any Japanese that loves Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy, that likes Halo (or any other Microsoft exclusive) and that doesn't see value in any PS4 exclusive, XOne is the right console for him/her. This is the truth and this proves that the console is not just about western games. Otherwise, this Japanese would obviously opt by PS4.

 

Regarding the western-oriented games, that is arguable. Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy are definitely Japan-oriented, perhaps more than Mario and motion games and see how that sells in Japan. I would say Japan is changing every year and that now it's far from being only about anime videogames. There is a very strong casual component as well as a growing western niche there. XOne has both and therefore I think Sunset Overdrive, Plants vs Zombies and Project Spark are actually quite Japan-oriented...as well as Kinect.

This time Microsoft is doing it right in Japan, showing what they do best and emphasizing casual games and Kinect rather than spending millions granting japanese exclusives that would tend to go for PlayStation and that would not convince that many gamers to change their minds and go for Xbox. Microsoft is playing smart, managing well their resources. They can't spend like crazy in a market that will never give them crazy results. They would rather be patient and wait for the japanese market to continue to change, eventually promoting that change with good promos like the one presented on this thread.