Shane Kim: Japan is a 'longer-term effort' Options

[Xbox-Scene]

Shane Kim: Japan is a 'longer-term effort' Posted by XanTium | June 12 18:00 EST | News Category: Xbox360

From gamesindustry.biz: [QUOTE] "We've been very realistic about our near-to-mid term opportunities in Japan, specifically with respect to the current console generation," Shane Kim said in an interview shortly before his promotion was announced. "Obviously it's a challenging market with well entrenched competitors. "I'm excited to see developments such as the new RPGs from Japanese developers - I think that's a recognition in the developer-publisher community that the Xbox 360 is a great platform, and we've got a great installed base in the rest of the world. "From a business perspective I think they all know that they need to take the platform seriously, and my hope is that through that process we'll start to see more Japanese content that will stimulate greater demand in Japan and start to turn our fortunes around. [/QUOTE] Full Story: gamesindustry.biz

[proger]

You mean they're still actually trying in Japan?

This post has been edited by proger: Jun 13 2008, 12:59 AM

[leo5150]

You mean they're still actually trying in Japan?

[I Jeremie I]

They should just give up now.... I dont think Japan will ever really buy into the Xbox, because they are all REALLY attached to there damned PS3's and Wii's.... If i was MS i would just say "F*** Japan!!! Its there own damn lose if they don't want to give the Xbox a chance !!!"

[elocin671]

I think they should accept that they failed in Japan. And work on their strategy for winning them when they release the next xbox.

This post has been edited by elocin671: Jun 13 2008, 02:49 AM

[midnightcharger2]

The 360 will fail as any other proceeding consoles from microsoft. They have already sealed their coffin with the Japanese market since the release of the orginal xbox. They failed to make their products as trend setting in Japan. Its the same for the Zune (not that I would ever conceieve of buying one) but if I searched any local shops here to try and buy one, I believe it would be near impossible unless I shopped online. Lack of interest is due to the lack of advertising and that leads to a lack of support for the console. There are tons of 3rd party items that could be found in the Western worlds, but there is a life-support amount of items for this console to be found here.

Ps2/Ps3/DS/Wii/and PSP are the trendsetters for gaming here.

Frank
Nagano, Japan

[Metsada]

The 360 will fail as any other proceeding consoles from microsoft. They have already sealed their coffin with the Japanese market since the release of the orginal xbox. They failed to make their products as trend setting in Japan. Its the same for the Zune (not that I would ever conceieve of buying one) but if I searched any local shops here to try and buy one, I believe it would be near impossible unless I shopped online. Lack of interest is due to the lack of advertising and that leads to a lack of support for the console. There are tons of 3rd party items that could be found in the Western worlds, but there is a life-support amount of items for this console to be found here.

Ps2/Ps3/DS/Wii/and PSP are the trendsetters for gaming here.

Frank
Nagano, Japan

but wouldnt the new jrpg's raise new interest for the xbox360. At least 3 solid games in the coming year, who all come first to the xbox360.

Btw can you also explain why the ps3 is selling like shit over there

[midnightcharger2]

Even with the release of Blue Dragon which should have been a smash hit among the Japanese, it failed miserably. The fact is that Japanese do not hate the xbox. I would say that majority of the population have no knowledge about it and those that do, think its not worth the money.

As with a prior made post in the past about this topic, I have seen at most 2-3 commericals during my stay in Japan. Over 3 years in my current location. I can only imagine how much advertising you would see back stateside or other western countries coming from every direction to the consumers.

While many of the people in this country are considered hardcore gamers, there is a catch to it.
People here in this country focus on education for their children as that is the priority concern for them to integrate into society properly.

Many parents enforce a strict study lifestyle on their children as early as kindergarten/elemantary school. Most are tied up with afterschool activites and classes throughout their whole school lives. Its very unusual for children to be left to play video games hours at a time. I know this as fact as I work as a English teacher here and see young children coming to our schools as late as 9:00pm to recieve lessons

this is where portable gaming takes the front seat.

Children can sneak in their gaming needs on the way to school while they take the trains, in between classes, and generally any time they are away from their parents.

The other factor of gaming here is the prices. If parents have the option of buying a 400 dollar gaming machine or sending their children to *lets say* English cram schools, It is almost definite they would choose the second option. This is why the PS3 falls right behind the xbox in terms of sales. Between the price of the console/games/accessories, that is alot of wasted money in their minds.

I personally know of only one person who has a Ps3

As for the home gamers, I do see a split among the wii and Ps2 due to the cost factor. Our cost of living for certain things like the big ticket gasoline issues is what forces people to be more conservative on their money. I hear people complaining about 4/gal in the states, we pay over 7USD/gallon here. And i have heard in the UK that its upwards 10/gallon. I believe that many people here have value for entertainment but unlike the U.S. (since I am from there and can compare) are entertainment junkies and are willing to spend top dollar to have the latest and greatest even if they cant afford their next meal.

From my standpoint, I would like to spend X amount of hours a day studying my Japanese/culture then spend that same amount of time trying to beat a video game. I could only imagine going to a future job interview and saying what I accomplished and the person next to me saying *YEAH, well, I beat GTA4 and unlocked the whole game on the difficult settings in less then 45 hours*

This post has been edited by midnightcharger2: Jun 13 2008, 04:43 PM

[tom_mandory]

I think they should accept that they failed in Japan. And work on their strategy for winning them when they release the next xbox.

Thats funny.
They admitted that they failed in japan with the first xbox, then said they would try harder to get into the hearts and minds of the japanese with the 360 from the get go. and what did they come up with? nothing.

[Giga_Death]

Btw can you also explain why the ps3 is selling like shit over there

Nintendo is kicking it's ass over there. PS3 really isn't doing as well as it should be in Japan. Nobody really know why, but it must obviously be lack of games. And the psp is getting it's ass kicked in Europe and USA by the DS.