Microsoft unleashes new Xbox in Japan to lukewarm reaction

[Teuthida]

The Japanese are a funny case in terms of nationality. They hate to include themselves with the rest of Asia. The most popular selling manga as of late are ones that put down Chinese and Koreans. It's quite popular to bash South Korea since the Korean pop scene and other things have been invading Japan. Sorta like how here some people lash out against anime and are tired of the Japanese influence on the media they used to like. Japan's modern culture grabs bits from other countries. Most of their knowledge of the US for example comes from such things like MTV...not a real awareness. Thus when my friend's cousin came to the states from Japan to visit he was pretty dumbfounded that his dreds and Rastafarian clothing weren't the norm.

As for Xbox 360 not selling well why do you assume iPods are virtually nonexistent in South Korea whereas way too popular here? Where a product originates is a big influence on who buys it even if you refuse to believe it.

[DarrenMcLeod]

http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/xbox-36...ces-142368.php

[Teuthida]

Oh my. I feel kinda bad for MS.

J Allard needs a hug.

[Dyne]

The question is, why did those stores sign those contracts?

They should've actually looked at the console.

[GameMaster]

The store should sell them to American retail stores. People are still hungry for 360 over here. They aren't paying double or triple the price on eBay but people still want them.

[Jonbo298]

I think Microsoft also put in that contract you can't just export them overseas

[MuGen]

Believe it or not, but most of the market is Eurasia and Japan with about 60%. Without Japan now, Microsoft's hopes for crushing Sony in the gaming industry have been crushed.

Either that or my hopes of Microsoft failing because they thought a head start would change things have been fullfilled.

[Shadow Fox]

Originally Posted by Teuthida

The Japanese are a funny case in terms of nationality. They hate to include themselves with the rest of Asia. The most popular selling manga as of late are ones that put down Chinese and Koreans. It's quite popular to bash South Korea since the Korean pop scene and other things have been invading Japan. Sorta like how here some people lash out against anime and are tired of the Japanese influence on the media they used to like. Japan's modern culture grabs bits from other countries. Most of their knowledge of the US for example comes from such things like MTV...not a real awareness. Thus when my friend's cousin came to the states from Japan to visit he was pretty dumbfounded that his dreds and Rastafarian clothing weren't the norm.

As for Xbox 360 not selling well why do you assume iPods are virtually nonexistent in South Korea whereas way too popular here? Where a product originates is a big influence on who buys it even if you refuse to believe it.

If that's the case then, why does everyone in Japan use either Windows, Linux, or MacOSX on their computers?

Why hasn't an all-Japanese OS surfaced to cater to their needs?

Answer: because the AMERICAN OS's cater to their needs. If Xbox and Xbox 360 did the same with games, you'd see the same acceptance.

In other words, it doesn't matter whether Sony or Nintendo were Amercian or Russian companies; the Japanese would still eat up everything they make because those games, and MARKETING OF THOSE GAMES, appeal to them.

Think about it- just think about finding a Japanese gamer that hasn't heard of Tetris.

Then ask the same Japanese gamer if they've heard of Halo, or Unreal Tournament.

Sorry, just had to get that bit off of my chest.

[Teuthida]

If you disregard Atari, Japan has always been the major video game country...just like America brought computers into homes. People in every country around the world bitch and moan about Microsoft, but Windows still dominates. Think use of an operating system is in kind of a different catagory anyway...what OS you use determines what programs can use and your overall experience of what a computer is. If want to use a similar example to the consoles then I hightly doubt the Dell Dude has been overseas.

After all the advertising MS has been doing in Japan I think I would be annoyed enough not to want one even if I might have considered it before. They were shoving this thing down people's throats. Like those damn PSP graffittish ads here in NYC which are making me hate a system I was previously indifferent about.

But you're right on having the games they want. Thing is MS is trying to get those types of games for 360.

[DeathsHand]

Originally Posted by Teuthida

Like those damn PSP graffittish ads here in NYC which are making me hate a system I was previously indifferent about.

I heard 'bout those on the news a short while back... But they reported it as actual illegal vandalism showing up on people's private property... Adding that Sony denied being behind it all...

[Teuthida]

Originally Posted by DeathsHand

I heard 'bout those on the news a short while back... But they reported it as actual illegal vandalism showing up on people's private property... Adding that Sony denied being behind it all...

What I find kind of funny is that Sony were the ones who went about doing this. I dunno if their following is so strong a fan would attempt. Whereas there is actually a bunch of pretty nice graffiti by Nintendo fans of DK and Mario and the like. I pass this one huge wall everyday of DK throwing a barrel at Luigi.

And then people react...

[Shadow Fox]

Originally Posted by Teuthida

what OS you use determines what programs can use

Not neccessarily. Every major OS now has similar, if not exact copies of programs used, whether it's XP, Sun OS, OSX, Red Hat, SuSE, Mandrake or Unix.

and your overall experience of what a computer is.

Agreed.