This. I'm confused.

iPods aren't that great (although I do think that the touch screen in iPhone and iPod touch is awesome). Starbucks aren't that great compared to local places, and McDonalds are gross (less gross in Japan, but still). The reason why those companies succeeded aren't their quality, but how much they were able to market, buy out, price, etc. And how can you really say that Japanese only buy Japanese products if a foreign product is equal? There's 2 questions that arises.

How do the Japanese, as a collective whole judge that "X" brand is better? There's definetly fragmentation in America. Look, we even have Xbox vs. PS3 fanboys that argue that "X" product is better in quality, and they're of the same nationality.

And how much of a difference do the products have to be in quality? I don't think that there's usually 2 products, exactly the same in quality. So what's the line?

I personally think that Sony's products are usually of better quality than most, but it's just that their price over exceeds the value of that slightly better quality right now, and I think it's because they're depending too much on future technology (OLED in their new iPod touch-ish walkman, Cell/Bluray in PS3, etc).

And again, you're still generalizing an entire nation, which is, although not as much as America, fragmented and different. There are liberal people in Japan, and conservative ultra-nationalists in Japan.

I won't go dancing around in victory, but can you please just admit that not everybody in Japan will buy a Japanese product over another equal one over nationalism and that SOME may?

Maybe it just sucks?

Of course IPODs are great. They were so great it didn't even take but a year for the switch from CD's to MP3 players (which is amazing). As I told you, if Sony cannot control hard formats, they'll lose because they suck at digital download/mp3 programs (Which technically are the future). Why do you have to make this a quality issue? Thats just insulting American companies now. People also flood Starbucks and McDonalds over there. The American economy is now a majority service economy which bases their services on convenience. We are the best at convenience and we probably would've been so much better at cars if we weren't sabotaged by our oil companies.

The Japanese are going to go for quality, based on subjective thinking. The main point has everything to do with, whether they have a certain equal version of a particular product which is already deemed quality or of interest.

Sony's products are better than most, but of course the best are not most.

I'm not generalizing an entire nation. Japanese are a free economy just like us, but their trends have shown that they are culturally more loyal to their domestic products than we are, unless we show them something they don't have or vastly better than their own. I stated in most cases, not all. It's already been deemed at launch the Japanese deemed the 360 a failure....that is until Microsoft whipped out the JRPG's. Japan and America are very different even though the west has greatly influenced them. Japanese are a collectivist society, where as we in America are considered a individualist society.

http://www.4colorrebellion.com/archives/2006/01/03/the-xbox-360-and-japanese-nationalism/

It's bulky American hardware and the Japanese are super patriotic.

I give up. Yes, Japan is more Homogeneous than America is, I can't really think of any other country as fragmented as America is. But, Japan still has diversities, especially in mentality, subjective tastes, etc within. A prime example is young Japanese people vs. Old Japanese people. Is it so hard to say that it's in very poor taste to just say "Japanese people are..." Even if you don't mean all Japanese people, the words mean it, and it is generalizing if you are lumping all Japanese people together as having the same mindsets, buying trends, etc.

Not all Americans love Hummers do they? But they sold pretty well for a short while.

@S.T.A.G.E: You´re also very patriotic, so why are bothering Akvod? What he says is true more or less. As if there aren´t any japanese fast food chains, coffee shops and mp3 players... Kotaku.com had recently posted a survey on which gadget brand is considered more reliable, etc... And guess who won in each section? That´s right Apple, an american company. Beating even Nintendo. Also the U.S. is an exception in the world when it comes to cultural diversity, Japan isn´t the norm too since they´ve been an isolated country due to their history and geographical location, however they are still quite neare to the norm than what the U.S.A is.

Of course I'm patriotic. I love my country man. What he says isn't the complete truth, but he has points. We never spoke about Japanese fast food chains. We were talking about what the Japanese would accept even with their collectivist mentality. I'm sorry, but I've had more apple products break down than Nintendo, and whats worse is you tend to feel shitty about your purchase after about a year, because the next installment owns the product you currently have. I wasn't denying Japans isolated situation, becuase they aren't the most economically nationalistic country, I was just stating of the big 3 they were the most nationalistic. Japan sees business success as a company providing jobs to their people so they can buy products over actual profit. A company shouldn't strive for actual profit over its duty to consumers and workers alike. This is what caused the Japanese economic boom. I know all about it.

I never stated Japan didn't have diversity and alternate subjective tastes. I know about it and I cannot wait to go there myself. The new Japanese style of economy which is much like Americas today will drive them to ruin as opposed to their mid 1900's economic concept of businesses working for the people.

Hummers are usually purchased by the upper-middle class or capitalist class. America has their high end cars much like Europe, but no where near the quantity or quality. When we count exotic high end we don't think Japanese, but European.

Well Europe is not a nation, just a social and economical community with laws, there´s no central government. Many european countries have quite an amount of nationalistic attitude, mainly due to the immigrants they let in the 60´s-70´s and the working, social and religious problems it brought afterwards. Other european country are still xenophobic and hate their neighbors.