sega consoles were better quality.

This is what happens every time someone asks this question (and this question has been asked here many, many times):

1. One guy comes in and insults the Japanese.

2. A couple people claim that the Japanese are really xenophobic.

3. Everyone misses the real point.

Microsoft royally fucked up with the first Xbox. They came into the market with nothing but Dead or Alive 3 to appeal to the Japanese market. The original Xbox had everything going against it. The console itself was huge, which was terrible for Japanese homes. The controller was also enormous, which was terrible for Japanese hands. And the system itself was plentiful with shooters and action games, but very little that appealed to the Japanese market. Then, Microsoft made the same idiotic mistakes again with the 360, and they thought they could fix them a couple years later by buying off developers to make some fairly "meh" JRPGs for the system. It gave them a great sales boost, and the 360 sold more than the PS3 several times (and even more than the Wii a couple times!). But eventually the Japanese realized that these RPGs that the 360 had were fairly average, that the system was pretty much absent of games that appealed to them besides those, and that if they wanted RPGs, they should just go to the handheld consoles.

Microsoft will likely never win the Japanese market, they should just give up.

Well, it's not just that, but also because some of those games are getting an upgraded version exclusively for the PS3.

See

http://kotaku.com/280004/2chan-explains-why-japan-hates-xbox-360

May favorite ones are

"I got it! Sell it packaged with Vista!!"

"Foreigners are satisfied only with killing. Japanese are not that stupid."

"Because it sounds as loud as a microwave oven?"

Is it just the Xbox or all American Products ? They buy european cars european designer clothing american designer clothing. American Media. American Music. European Music. I read recently an article about the brands which are succesful in Japan I was surprised that it was mainly things like Louis Vuitton Burberry Prada Porsche Bulgari. NONE of the Top Brands was Japanese. And Consumer Electronics well. Japan makes the best electronics world wide. Even if there are soem companys which wins here and there, But its not true that Japanese people dont buy US Products because Apple is succesfu.


The american products in Japan which are succesful are not so obvious. American or European Consumer Electronic is just not leading. there are some companys like Apple or Nokia which are top brands but what else ?

You seem to forget that US is the big player in another market. Its the media. US Media are ruling the world. Youtube Google Hollywood Tv Series Music. Japanese people buy this too. They are not racist.

Why is the xbox not as succesful in japan ? Why. First Home Consoles are declining in Japan. Second there was the WII Hype and PS3 dont looked good either.

Second Ok the Xbox got some JRPGs. But JRPGS are not as strong as they used to be even in Japan. So what delievered the Xbox ? Some Jrpgs plus mostly FPS WRPGS TPS. And those are completly not appealing to the average Japanese which can be seen on the sales numbers.

The Xbox had cost for Online I dont know if they accepted this. Second the PS3 got still more Japanese Games a lot more. Just not Jrpgs. And the people knew that those Jrpgs come to PS3 aswell and probably in an improved Version.

And FF 13 is Exclusiv in Japan plus the Ps3 is just quality Hardware. And thats fact. The first ones had the problem with Ylod. But this was rare too. FF 13 VS and FF 14 is a big argument pro PS3 and Yakuza and GT 5. If we subtract those few JRPGS what else can the Xbox offer to the Japanese Consumer ? Not much. the Xbox is a 100% western console and the games just dont appeal to Japanese audience. The difference in the library is huge if you compare the Japenese only games for PS3 and japanese only games for Xbox360. Are there even Japan only games for Xbox360 ? Some Jrpgs are not enough to win the market in Japan. I fully understand why the Xbox is not as succesful as the PS3 in Japan. They HATE Games like Modern Warfare those 100k could be even foreigners from Europe or NA.


It has nothing to do with the Japanese not buying western products this is just not true.
MS just has NO experience in japan they still managed it to double the Xbox install base and the gen is not over yet. Its an achievment mostly due to the JRPGS. But MS has to learn that Japan is just a completly differen market. To really make a decision we just have to list all games which appeal to Japanese Gamers on both consoles and then we will see which list is longer. How many jrpgs bought MS as timed exclusives ? 3-4 ? And this should be enough ? It was enough to gain more marketshare. But certainly not enough to be better then PS3. First Xbox just was a weird western console. Then came the Xbox360 2005 but in this year there was nothing interesting for Japan. Then came the WII and everybody forgot about the 360 after that came PS3 and MGS and lower price the Xbox bought some Jrpgs but Japan people knew they will be coming to Ps3 too and then the Japanese RPG Fan saw the Jrpgs and knew that he would have to buy a PS3 anyway because of FF13 and FF 13 VS and there was MGS and GT5 Most people buy just ONE console not two.

When it comes to the fail rate I agree. But when it comes to software quality, god no.

1) The Japanese are a very patriotic people. They will often support their own products above foreign ones.

2) The 360 doesn't have many games which appeal to the Japanese market. Just a few second-rate JRPGs. The PS3 doesn't have much either, mind, but it has FF13, GT and MGS, and also see 1)

NB: By second rate, I mean in terms of popularity. They're no FF, DQ, Pokémon, etc.

3) The PS brand has been around in America for a long time. When the PS1 launched, ALL of the major consoles were Japanese. The PS1, of course, took the lead, and built an American PS fanbase. When the Xbox launched, it couldn't break into that fanbase. The 360 managed to, but only because the PS3 was so abysmal at launch.

I would disagree. It is completely. Had the PS3 launched at $300 with a great line-up and online service, even without a Blu-ray player, it would have overtaken the 360 in NA, and worldwide, within a year.

The real problem isn't racism, bias, or even the RROD, but commitment to their market on Microsoft's part.

Remember when Sega pulled the plug on the Saturn because it was doing poorly in the West, Saturn games and consoles were still being sold in Japan. When Sega decided to become a software company and abandoned the Dreamcast, they still supported the Dreamcast in Japan long after the console cycle ended everywhere else.

My point is Japan is not Microsoft's territory and if their gaming division in Japan fails to bring in revenue, then Microsoft can easily withdraw from that market. For Nintendo and Sony, Japan is the last market they will abandon. Japan is where their main location is at and that gives Japanese consumers some insurance that the console they invest in will continue to be around for some time.

We all can agree that if we knew Sega was only going to support the Dreamcast for a couple of years, no one would have invested in that console. It is the same with Japanese gamers, they do not know if Microsoft is committed to their market enough.

as far  games, i disagree too, even with the low userbase dreamcast have one of the first years line up ever.

especially in japan, just SEGA didn't have microsoft money to drag on 6 billion in losses.