Japanese Gamers Speak to SPOnG on Xbox 360 - Full Report

Microsoft's new console lays roots in the East.

Posted by Staff
Japanese Gamers Speak to SPOnG on Xbox 360 - Full Report
No one really seems to know what the Japanese gaming community makes of the western aggressor/courtier Microsoft and its new console, except that about 60,000 of them have bought into the new offering. We decided that the best thing to do would be to ask.

Prowling the virtual streets of Tokyo, helped in no small part by our friends over at Anime kings MediaBlasters (with special thanks to Anna) we asked Japanese gamers their thoughts on Microsoft's new machine.

Interestingly, the main vibe is upbeat, belying sluggish sales and the Western media's thinly disguised glee at what on the surface seems a botched venture. Though from the selection of gamers we spoke to, most are willing to buy into the 360 – when the right software arises and interestingly, several claimed the marketing support for the 360 didn't get the message across...

“There's nothing special about the way Microsoft promotes 360. Many softcore gamers don't care for high specs or high definition,” one gamer said. “Microsoft in Japan didn't really explain what Xbox 360 is capable of,” commented another. “ The main reason why Japanese people weren't attracted to Xbox and 360 was that the promotion was terrible. Bad promotion, yet pretty expensive compared to other game systems.”

So the marketing for Xbox 360 generally saw a thumbs down. Bear in mind that two of the three gamers quoted above already own a 360 and the level of frustration and the mixed message becomes apparent.

Another blight Microsoft needs to work at in Japan is the image the Xbox brand has for being faulty. The early glitches the original suffered with eating up game discs - a point all but forgotten in the West - plays heavily in the purchasing decision for the new generation of console. When asked 'Why do you think the Japanese people are not interested in Xbox 360?', concerns over build integrity were prominent. “Because when Xbox came out, there was a problem with the system. That probably scared Japanese game companies and Japanese gamers away from Xbox,” said one gamer. “I believe it's a matter of which game system is most popular. Because of the Xbox's system glitch, even after it was fixed, people just believed that the whole PC for your game system idea was over, and moved on. There are just that many game systems, and new gadgets in Japan, so you can't hold onto the idea that didn't work the first time.” Echoing this, another said, “The problem Xbox had in the beginning is still holding people back from buying Xbox and Xbox 360.”

We know that Microsoft has carried out exhaustive consomer focus tests in Japan, as it did everywhere else in the world. Even so, we can't help but wonder if Microsoft knows that those isolated incidents on chewed-up game discs - seized upon so readily by a somewhat xenophobic Japanese games press intent on keeping this outsider on the outside - had such a massive damaging impact. “The problem with Xbox scared them away,” stated another gamer.

So what does Microsoft need to do to prise the Yen from the Japanese gaming community? The answers were varied, offering an interesting insight into the gaming scene in the East. It would also appear that the traditional resistance against western-developed first-person shooters is dwindling. One called for “Localisation of American FPS games,” and others echoed these sentiments, again calling for more access to the software generally seen as unmarketable to the Japanese consumer. The fact that the machine is American also cropped up time and time again. “I wouldn't mind if the games are created by American people, but they should try to bring more games into Japan,” we were told. “Japanese people think that most games for Xbox and Xbox 360 are American games. Japanese people aren't used to watching American comic-style characters or CG violence. Also, it takes some time to get used to the system itself. Online games for Xbox (and 360) are mainly shooting or fighting games, and many Japanese people don't like the type of games where you need to be really good. And also there are not many RPG (or online RPG) for Xbox.”

The genres available for Xbox 360 have also seemingly been poorly explained to the Japanese audience. “They should release more game series that are popular in Japan,” we were told. “If they released DQ (Dragon Quest) or Final Fantasy, that would definitely attract Japanese gamers.” Seemingly, the potential of Hironobu Sakaguchi's Blue Dragon has been overlooked. Backwards compatibility was also mentioned frequently. “There aren't many Japanese games for Xbox as it is, not only I can't play (sic) Xbox games on 360, there are even fewer Japanese games for 360. And also, even for Xbox, there were so many games that weren't sold Japan. I wanted to play Winning Eleven...”

We hope you enjoyed this brief insight into the state of the Japanese Xbox 360 push seen through they eyes of its game-buying public. As ever, let us know your thoughts in the forum below.

Comments

fluffstardx 16 Dec 2005 14:54
1/7
It has to be said, the advertising surprised me. Here is a machine capable of streaming MP3s off your PC, video chat when the camera comes out, getting HD previews of upcoming games, films and music, buying smaller arcade games to play when you're feeling like it, progressive scan DVD playback... none of this has really been in their marketing campaign. It's been mentioned in speeches, but that's it. If the Japanese and indeed Western world's gamers heard of all these extra features, maybe they'd be swung some more.

I was frankly astonished when I booted mine up and found all this functionality just sat there unannounced. It's lessened the need for me to switch on a lot of devices in my room, for which I'm thankful as it cut down on all the power cables trailing around.

The 360 has been marketed for its gaming revolutions, but it's the way it can affect the time spent not playing that's the real revolutionary approach; I've got music vids, film trailers, game trailers, developer interviews, demo games...
PresidentEvil 16 Dec 2005 15:16
2/7
These rice-munching guys need to understand that for American companies to develop "Japanese Style" games is just a waste of everyone's time.

In a few months, American culture will have completely subsumed "Japanese" culture, which seems to be based on outmoded principles such as honour, community and respecting age and experience. In its place, we will have substituted a culture where celebrity and money are the new gods.

Japanese gamers will learn to enjoy shooting people in the face at close range using a life-like array of realistically rendered miltiary hardware, instead of those games where they tease the knickers off underage girls.
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shigerubot 17 Dec 2005 08:08
3/7
GWBush,
your opinion is as flawed as your political opinions are. Japanese dont like the xbox and they never will. Microsoft just dosn't "get" the japanese market and they never will. Fortunetly for them, they dont have to as the North American market is all that matters anymore. They should just leave Japan to Nintendo and Sony and simply concentrate on NA and Europe.
Coxy 17 Dec 2005 19:51
4/7
I don't think the Xbox will ever sell as well as Nintendo or Sony in Japan, purely because (in my opinion) Japanese consumers tend to buy Japanese products.
kid_77 18 Dec 2005 19:44
5/7
shigerubot, GWBush's point was extremely SERIOUS, and was completely TRUTHFUL.
fluffstardx 19 Dec 2005 14:13
6/7
It's true. I detected no SARCASM. AT ALL. ^_^

The article does show that there's a profound lack of understanding, but it also gives hope that, should MS listen to them, they might actually break into the market there...
Joji 4 Apr 2006 22:08
7/7
I find this a little amusing. I have to say that from the moment I heard MS were doing a home console , I knew they'd have trouble breaking the japanese market.

I also believe that there is a problem of america exporting so much of their own yank culture that no other nation gets a chance to sell theirs and this leaves them very big headed, so much that they fail and hate a lot of other cultures besides their own. French folk in Canada get a lot of stick from them all the time for being different (what goes around, comes around mind).

Why is it the likes of Apple have seen success while MS have not? It's not because japanese don't like american or their product. The xbox was too big but now that error ( and the scratching disc thing) has been corrected. Some aren't so forgiving though even though PS2 also had its early flaws.

iPod sells because it's small, well designed on the back of other hd players and comes in fashionable hues. If Apple had messed up with early iPods they might not be producing any photo, nano or video versions now. Xbox was rushed and MS are paying the price for that in japan, that even now Mr Gates wallet must be crying at being outsold by GC still.

Speaking of Nintendo or even Sega, MS should have looked at exactly how long it takes to make a games console and get it to shelves, got some japanese heads from Sega in order to produce and sell Xbox and 360, problem is that MS were so eager that did not design and plan the consoles properly. I was so surprised at MS disrespect when pushing the original Xbox, a machine designed with it seems yanks in mind (big with a weird military green finish, originally an awfully big awkward joypad and heavy metal.

Remember when Nintendo redesigned the SNES for the u.s market known as SNES2? While not only cosmetic it had an impact and MS should have paid attention to this. Even Sony done this with PS2 and the recent slim version. So why was Xboxs' design not changed over four-five years? This kind of thing can stimulate sales.






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