By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close

Forums - Microsoft Discussion - What was Microsoft thinking with those X1 Japanese launch games!!!!!

S.T.A.G.E. on 02 September 2014
McDonaldsGuy said:
Japan is not as important as it was during the Xbox/ early Xbox 360 days, luckily for Microsoft. But it reminds me just how bad the Xbox 360 launch was. A lot of people said the Japanese wouldn't buy the 360 because they won't buy American products but look at the launch for the 360: Every Party, Perfect Dark Zero, Project Gotham Racing 3, Madden, FIFA, Tetris, Ridge Racer, and Condemned. Terrible for Japan.

Microsoft will never succeed in Japan because they do not know how to.


As much as you might not respect Japan as a competent market, Microsoft has stated numerous times that they do and they will continue to try. The problem with Microsoft is that they just do not really understand the market no matter how hard they try.



Around the Network
Aura7541 on 02 September 2014

After Sony's pre-TGS conference, there is very little reason for Japanese gamers to buy an X1. The vast majority of the X1's launch library for Japan is already available on the PS4. None of its exclusives appeal to the Japanese, either. Meanwhile, the SCEJA announced a truckload of games that do appeal to Japan and will announce some more on their other conference on the 17th and TGS.



Mr Puggsly on 02 September 2014
S.T.A.G.E. said:
McDonaldsGuy said:
Japan is not as important as it was during the Xbox/ early Xbox 360 days, luckily for Microsoft. But it reminds me just how bad the Xbox 360 launch was. A lot of people said the Japanese wouldn't buy the 360 because they won't buy American products but look at the launch for the 360: Every Party, Perfect Dark Zero, Project Gotham Racing 3, Madden, FIFA, Tetris, Ridge Racer, and Condemned. Terrible for Japan.

Microsoft will never succeed in Japan because they do not know how to.


As much as you might not respect Japan as a competent market, Microsoft has stated numerous times that they do and they will continue to try. The problem with Microsoft is that they just do not really understand the market no matter how hard they try.

When MS was buying JRPGs that showed they understood the market. The problem doing that isn't financially worthwhile.

Sony tried to make games that cater to the Japanese audience, but they generally fail. So they're reliant on 3rd parties to make something happen.



Recently Completed: 
River City: Rival Showdown for 3DS (3/5) - River City: Tokyo Rumble for 3DS (4/5) - Zelda: BotW for Wii U (5/5) - Zelda: BotW for Switch (5/5) - Zelda: Link's Awakening for Switch (4/5) - Rage 2 for X1X (4/5) - Rage for 360 (3/5) - Streets of Rage 4 for X1/PC (4/5) - Gears 5 for X1X (5/5) - Mortal Kombat 11 for X1X (5/5) - Doom 64 for N64 (emulator) (3/5) - Crackdown 3 for X1S/X1X (4/5) - Infinity Blade III - for iPad 4 (3/5) - Infinity Blade II - for iPad 4 (4/5) - Infinity Blade - for iPad 4 (4/5) - Wolfenstein: The Old Blood for X1 (3/5) - Assassin's Creed: Origins for X1 (3/5) - Uncharted: Lost Legacy for PS4 (4/5) - EA UFC 3 for X1 (4/5) - Doom for X1 (4/5) - Titanfall 2 for X1 (4/5) - Super Mario 3D World for Wii U (4/5) - South Park: The Stick of Truth for X1 BC (4/5) - Call of Duty: WWII for X1 (4/5) -Wolfenstein II for X1 - (4/5) - Dead or Alive: Dimensions for 3DS (4/5) - Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite for X1 (3/5) - Halo Wars 2 for X1/PC (4/5) - Halo Wars: DE for X1 (4/5) - Tekken 7 for X1 (4/5) - Injustice 2 for X1 (4/5) - Yakuza 5 for PS3 (3/5) - Battlefield 1 (Campaign) for X1 (3/5) - Assassin's Creed: Syndicate for X1 (4/5) - Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare for X1 (4/5) - Call of Duty: MW Remastered for X1 (4/5) - Donkey Kong Country Returns for 3DS (4/5) - Forza Horizon 3 for X1 (5/5)

Dr.Henry_Killinger on 02 September 2014
Machiavellian said:
Dr.Henry_Killinger said:
Dismissal due to a Reality created from Dismissal.
Its better to try and fail rather than not try at all, and it perplexes me that money spent on timed exclusivity is seen as vital but money spent on enticing one of the largest markets is considered "A waste". Especially, when Microsoft has more money then its competitors.

I guess this is what Satya meant when he said Xbox wasn't a core part of Microsoft's business.

You know MS went down that route of enticing the Japanese market with the 360 and it really did not put a dent in sales there.  Some things really cannot be solved by money or for that matter even games.  Shifting a culture from considering a US made game console over the home grown would take more money than even MS is willing to risk  As many have said, even the PS4 isn't selling so what would be a realistic expectation for the X1.  Its better for MS to keep a presences then over spend like they did last gen only to still have the Japanese pretty much shun their product.

MS doesn't have the luxury to pick and choose which region they get.

As for whether or not the PS4 is selling well in the region is only skewed by the fact that its doing gangbusters in US and UK and excellent worldwide. Just because the PS4 sold 1mil first day in US, doesn't mean it should do 500k in Japan first day. Its a different region entirely. 10 million lifetime is excellent, and its only natural the PS4 should be behind the Wii U in Japan when it had a year lead. The gap is something like 700k consoles IRC, thats smaller than the gap between PS3 and 360 at this time.

Which is also why, just because the 360 and Xbox had hard times in Japan, doesn't mean XB1 will as well.

Saying Japan doesn't like XB so MS shouldn't spend money there is the same kind of circular reasoning that has driven 3rd party support from the Wii and Wii U, and if you don't know what I'm talking about it goes like this:

Crap Port/Late Port/Poor Support of Wii/Wii U Third Party -> Bad Game Sales -> "Oh, 3rd parties don't sell well on the Wii/WiiU" -> repeat (ad infinitum) or until 3rd party is gone.



In this day and age, with the Internet, ignorance is a choice! And they're still choosing Ignorance! - Dr. Filthy Frank

S.T.A.G.E. on 02 September 2014
Mr Puggsly said:
S.T.A.G.E. said:
McDonaldsGuy said:
Japan is not as important as it was during the Xbox/ early Xbox 360 days, luckily for Microsoft. But it reminds me just how bad the Xbox 360 launch was. A lot of people said the Japanese wouldn't buy the 360 because they won't buy American products but look at the launch for the 360: Every Party, Perfect Dark Zero, Project Gotham Racing 3, Madden, FIFA, Tetris, Ridge Racer, and Condemned. Terrible for Japan.

Microsoft will never succeed in Japan because they do not know how to.


As much as you might not respect Japan as a competent market, Microsoft has stated numerous times that they do and they will continue to try. The problem with Microsoft is that they just do not really understand the market no matter how hard they try.

When MS was buying JRPGs that showed they understood the market. The problem doing that isn't financially worthwhile.

Sony tried to make games that cater to the Japanese audience, but they generally fail. So they're reliant on 3rd parties to make something happen.


Microsoft reached a milestone in Japan that most never thought they would reach. Its called penetration. Sony hasn't even begun to try to do anything for the Japanese market. Sony knows westerners are where the money is so they are trying to make as much profit as possible off of the back of westerners. They have the advantage in Japan because they know outside of Nintendo they are the go to brand for higher powered consoles so most third parties will give them exclusives by default if they want Japanese money. 



Around the Network
AZWification on 02 September 2014
sweetoothj said:
Microsoft is probably thankful that console gaming is pretty much dead in Japan. Now they just need to keep dominating U.S. and put more effort in Europe.

I don't think MS can do much with the Xbox One in Europe sadly..



                
       ---Member of the official Squeezol Fanclub---

Squeezol on 02 September 2014

Zumba Fitness will make the system sell a lot, trust me!



yvanjean on 02 September 2014
Dr.Henry_Killinger said:

Because XB1 is the last to release in that region. Nobody is going to wait for games that have already come out not to mention 4 of those actually might appeal to Japanese gamers.

Japanese gamers are buying a new console, if they bother to get an xbox one in the first place they're interested in all game on the console.

Beside Forza 5, killer instinct, Titan fall, Dead rising 3 & Kinect Rivals are all exclusive to Xbox one ... Only TitanFall has a xbox 360 version.

 

 

 

 



Mr Puggsly on 02 September 2014
S.T.A.G.E. said:
Mr Puggsly said:

When MS was buying JRPGs that showed they understood the market. The problem doing that isn't financially worthwhile.

Sony tried to make games that cater to the Japanese audience, but they generally fail. So they're reliant on 3rd parties to make something happen.


Microsoft reached a milestone in Japan that most never thought they would reach. Its called penetration. Sony hasn't even begun to try to do anything for the Japanese market. Sony knows westerners are where the money is so they are trying to make as much profit as possible off of the back of westerners. They have the advantage in Japan because they know outside of Nintendo they are the go to brand for higher powered consoles so most third parties will give them exclusives by default if they want Japanese money. 

But the measly penetration they're getting in Japan simply isn't worthwhile. They should just let Nintendo and Sony fight over that.

Sony hasn't made a significant effort to push PS4 in Japan... nor should they. In Japan Sony rides the coattails of 3rd parties. So there is nothing to be done until those 3rd party games are ready.

Sony gave the Vita a big push in Japan. But the combined effort of 1st party and 3rd party games aimed at Japanese consumers is doing little to make the Vita a success over there. A handheld console was the biggest thing Sony had in Japan and that's basically dead now.

Sony is reliant on westerners because they still care about Playstation. The Playstation brand has lost relevance in Japan.



Recently Completed: 
River City: Rival Showdown for 3DS (3/5) - River City: Tokyo Rumble for 3DS (4/5) - Zelda: BotW for Wii U (5/5) - Zelda: BotW for Switch (5/5) - Zelda: Link's Awakening for Switch (4/5) - Rage 2 for X1X (4/5) - Rage for 360 (3/5) - Streets of Rage 4 for X1/PC (4/5) - Gears 5 for X1X (5/5) - Mortal Kombat 11 for X1X (5/5) - Doom 64 for N64 (emulator) (3/5) - Crackdown 3 for X1S/X1X (4/5) - Infinity Blade III - for iPad 4 (3/5) - Infinity Blade II - for iPad 4 (4/5) - Infinity Blade - for iPad 4 (4/5) - Wolfenstein: The Old Blood for X1 (3/5) - Assassin's Creed: Origins for X1 (3/5) - Uncharted: Lost Legacy for PS4 (4/5) - EA UFC 3 for X1 (4/5) - Doom for X1 (4/5) - Titanfall 2 for X1 (4/5) - Super Mario 3D World for Wii U (4/5) - South Park: The Stick of Truth for X1 BC (4/5) - Call of Duty: WWII for X1 (4/5) -Wolfenstein II for X1 - (4/5) - Dead or Alive: Dimensions for 3DS (4/5) - Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite for X1 (3/5) - Halo Wars 2 for X1/PC (4/5) - Halo Wars: DE for X1 (4/5) - Tekken 7 for X1 (4/5) - Injustice 2 for X1 (4/5) - Yakuza 5 for PS3 (3/5) - Battlefield 1 (Campaign) for X1 (3/5) - Assassin's Creed: Syndicate for X1 (4/5) - Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare for X1 (4/5) - Call of Duty: MW Remastered for X1 (4/5) - Donkey Kong Country Returns for 3DS (4/5) - Forza Horizon 3 for X1 (5/5)

McDonaldsGuy on 02 September 2014
S.T.A.G.E. said:
McDonaldsGuy said:
Japan is not as important as it was during the Xbox/ early Xbox 360 days, luckily for Microsoft. But it reminds me just how bad the Xbox 360 launch was. A lot of people said the Japanese wouldn't buy the 360 because they won't buy American products but look at the launch for the 360: Every Party, Perfect Dark Zero, Project Gotham Racing 3, Madden, FIFA, Tetris, Ridge Racer, and Condemned. Terrible for Japan.

Microsoft will never succeed in Japan because they do not know how to.


As much as you might not respect Japan as a competent market, Microsoft has stated numerous times that they do and they will continue to try. The problem with Microsoft is that they just do not really understand the market no matter how hard they try.


Japan is important but not as important as they were from 85-05. Japan would be a nice coup for MS but it's not happening and even if it did, the difference wouldn't be too much.