microsoft giving up japan?

[EaglesEye379]

@omoneru

I have seen the stupid Do-Do-Do ads, and seeing that releases for the 360 in Japan are late and mostly macho American as you put it, I do admit that I was overly blunt about Japanese country specific loyalty. No offense intended to Japanese gamers. In a free market dog eat dog world, only the good businesses do well.

But what I really was trying to say is that Microsoft being a foreign brand with the relatively new foreign Xbox brand will obviously have much higher barrier of entry (and this applies to all markets in the world) than Sony or Nintendo due to brand loyalty and how long Sony and Nintendo has successfully delivered to the Japanese. You mentioned 'Those who want HD look for Sony', which is what I was trying to say, brand loyalty is much higher in Japan.

Also let me put it this way. You mentioned 'They don't want to play Gears of War, Halo, GTA, Madden, or whatever American FPS/Sports/Sandbox/etc'. However, Final Fantasy and Metal Gear, both from Japanese developers can gain worldwide recognition and sell superbly outside Japan (in the millions). Its much harder for a Western game franchise to penetrate the Japanese gaming community and gain mainstream appeal in Japan (the closest is GTA, and even thats only 500k?). Again, emphasizing my point that the barrier of entry into Japan is higher, so this exacerbates Microsoft's position.

For your second point, again no offense to Japanese gamers, and Im sure I will get the LOLs, but the crux of my point was regarding Japanese developers and talent. I think they will care way more if MS pulls the plug, especially Namco, Square Enix, Capcom, who are shooting for global mainstream sales, distribution and income (based on upcoming games and recent financial reports). This will only be better for Japanese gamers who will have more games at the end of the day.

From recent interviews and reports, Japanese developer and publisher support for Xbox is on the way up and long-term relationships are being built. And who knows, the 360 game that the Japanese gamer will really care about may be around the corner. (There are already 2 contenders this year. By the way, I really care about Lost Odyssey).