Yes they should, I feel Natal can really help them gain marketshare in all regions.

Well I have to disagree.

Japanese people support their products much more. Of course, there has to be a Japanese alternative.

But here are some examples:

Nokia is by far the worlds largest cell phone manufacture. 38% of all the cellphones sold are Nokia cellphones. 62% are left for Samsung, Apple, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, HTC or LG.

Nokia decided to get out of the Japanese market, because they had NO chance to sell their products. Japanese people supported Japanese companies like Sony Ericsson. Can you imagine how strange this is? The undisputed worldwide leader left the Japanese market completely.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10109528-94.html

or another example: The iPod is a VERY popular product all over the world. the iPod is the mp3-player market. Zune, Walkmen or others might be good products, but don't have half of the sales of the ipod... right?

Well... not in Japan:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10344536-1.html

or not a market for technical stuff, let's see what the car industry is like. When it comes to upper-class cars, you can't beat the German manufactures. Mercedes, BMW and Porsche are very strong brands, healthy companies with great sales. Those three combined pretty much cover the market for upper-class cars. But that's not the case for Japan.

http://www.businessweek.com/autos/autobeat/archives/2007/05/yesterday_toyot.html

--> Japanese people are very loyal to their companies and products. It is a very tough market for any European or American company

@DirtyP2002

Wow. That . . . that's some research and evidence you . . . you have there. Wow. That's quite damning.

The Sony lead over Apple in Japan is very slight though. And this was the first time in like 4 years that Sony overtook Apple there. Still it's very clear that people buy Sony there due to wanting to support Japanese industry. Think about it. Sony is barely on the radar in the west these days in portable audio. And it's not because Americans are all like "oh yeah, I got an iPod, Americuuh Fuck Yeah!!" Apple fanboys don't fit into that demographic. When I think Apple fanboy, I think of some arthouse movie goer at Sundance or something watching a Soderbergh movie starring Sasha Grey.

Interesting to see that Nokia got run out of the Japanese market. Then again Nokia created the epic fail that was the N-Gage (honestly who really thought that design was a good idea?) so it doesn't surprise me that they would fail in Japan. The N-Gage was ahead of it's time though. Now that we have touchscreen technology and slider designs, it's a very good time for someone (possibly Sony) to consider making a smartphone with REAL handheld gaming (not just little games like the iPhone has).

As for the cars, I bet Americans are more likely to buy Japanese compared to European too. The European cars are nice but how many people can afford a Mercedes, BMW, Porsche, Ferrari, etc.? The Japanese cars are cheap and efficient.

I think the resources Microsoft has invested in the Japanese market could've been better spent elsewhere, and I don't think they'll focus on Japan as much next gen as they did earlier this gen. Despite all their efforts, they've made little headway in the region, and in reality they don't really need the Japanese market.

At this point they have enough brand power and marketshare in the West to convince any Japanese developers of note to work on 360 if they're also working on ps3.  Look at FFXIII. SE felt compelled to work on a 360 port JUST for the West, ignoring the 360 in Japan entirely.

Square Enix, Capcom, Konami, and the rest are all fully on board the Microsoft train for the time being, and this has nothing to do with the amount of consoles Microsoft has managed to sell in Japan. Given the amount of time and money Microsoft has put into marketing, price incentives (I wouldn't be surprised if they lose money on each 360 sold in Japan, given how little they go for), and buying timed exclusives (Tales) or making publishing deals (Blue Dragon), this money most likely could've been more effectively used in increasing marketshare in the West, through even better marketing and paying for more exclusives that cater to Western demographics.

You can't compare upper-class cars like Mercedes, BMW and Porsche with a Toyota. You to compare cars from the same segments. And that is what the article did. Comparing BMW and Mercedes with Lexus. In this segment, I think Mercedes and BMW have a better market share than Lexus in the US, even though Lexus is pretty big there.

http://www.bmwblog.com/2009/06/04/bmw-tops-lexus-for-third-month/

http://www.motorauthority.com/blog/1033364_bmw-edging-past-lexus-to-become-americas-top-selling-luxury-brand

But the funny thing is, that this even works the other way around. Japanese products which miserably failed all over the world had at least decent sales in Japan. Check the minidisc. A format that just failed in Europe and NA, but it had its moments in Japan.

The best MS can do is trying to team up with Sony and make a game console together. I don't know why that will be a bad decision for both of them.

Capcom will not abandon M$ as long as they continue their strong presence in NA and to a dwindling extent, in Others. If FFXIII sells really well on 360 then $quenix will also not abandon M$. However, if they have IU type sales, I dunno what to say.
Back on topic. If they plan on continuing with the same money hungry stance of paying devs left and right for their JRPG's and think they will magically outsell 2 well established local brands, then they might as well give up. IF, however, they think outside the box with a better marketing campaign (jap 360 commercials are horrid), along with investing on several focus groups to understand the market, they may stand a chance to put a dent in Japan.
Humility is what had initially put Sony on top, and in the blink of an eye, they went the "we are the best" route and look how badly they dropped? Humility along with proper marketing CAN make M$ a force to be reckoned with in Japan for the 360.

I think if they're making a profit there they should definitely continue. But if they do make a loss, maybe it's still wise to stay in Japan, because they attract Japanese manufacturers to make products for the 360 that consumers in Europe and USA like and buy. Without these games, they would've less consumers in the west.

I think they need to be there, but I think they should drop the expenditure. It seems that throwing a lot of money around to fund new IPs, etc. and huge marketing events simply doesn't make much difference, therefore if I was MS I'd cut back funding for the region to what is in line with sales but definately stay in the region.

If they sell 2M this gen LTD they have a shot at more than that next gen. They should simply settle for slow, steady growth and rely on their success in US to draw Japanese developers onto the platform.