The death of the Atari was the start of a trend in videogaming that has remained in place to this day: The Japanese build game machines and sell them to the West. Apart from the odd delay in getting products to market, this arrangement has functioned perfectly for the last 20 years.
Microsoft is hoping to change all that.
The Xbox goes on sale in Japan this Friday. Essentially a PC in a box, it’s large, not very pretty, and has a distinct American feel. The PlayStation 2 and GameCube in contrast are small, highly stylised and very Japanese indeed. Microsoft has set itself the unenviable task of selling the Xbox into the notoriously tight Japanese market. Can they hope to succeed?
“I'm often asked why Microsoft decided to enter the console gaming market,” said Xbox chief Robbie Bach. “It's because the world has gone through a digital entertainment revolution in recent years. Console games provide an interactive medium to explore that revolution. As for the Xbox's performance in America, more than 1.5 million units have been sold since launch. I think the GameCube will mainly appeal to players 12-14 years old and younger. In order to understand our online vision for the Xbox, you have to think 3-4 years in the future. We believe the Xbox will be the driving force behind the spread of broadband services in Japan. PlayStation 2 owners will need to add hard-drive and Ethernet peripherals in order to transform the console into an online platform. We're committed to making the Xbox the leading console in Japan.” Nintendo has made minimal online commitments and remains tight-lipped about the future for GameCube. PlayStation 2 will go online but needs additional hardware to enable this.”
Others are less optimistic: “"You are talking about a closed market and going up against two very strong, very entrenched competitors," said Heath Terry, a game software analyst with Credit Suisse First Boston. "For Microsoft to expect significant success early on in that market is unrealistic."
Sega’s Peter Moore has been watching the Xbox gear up with great interest and is openly impressed with the awareness and marketing campaign implemented by Microsoft. “It's eerily reminiscent of the power of the launch of the PlayStation," he said, referring to Sony's first console. "The way a powerful global company can attack an industry, get under its skin and change an industry." It might be worth remembering at this point that Mr Moore said the same about the Dreamcast, the Saturn, the Mega CD etc.
Retailers have been reporting huge pre-order levels for Xbox in Japan, in contrast to the lukewarm reception the GameCube received at launch.
Check back on Friday for full Japanese launch coverage.