December, 360's best sales in Japan
by Dustin Burg 
{ Jan 10th 2007 at 5:30PM }
It's no secret that Japan dislikes the Xbox 360, to them it smells of moldy bread covered with motor oil. But with the release of Blue Dragon Microsoft hoped to spur sales, and it actually looks like it helped. IGN reports that Japanese publisher Enterbrain released Japan's sales figures for December 2006 and the 360 has sold in record numbers for the month. Don't get your hopes up though, the install base for Japan is a measly 290,467 units compared to the Wii (just released a month ago) which has moved 989,118 units. Sad, isn't it? But the ray of hope is that 99,798 Xbox 360s were sold in December alone. Yes, that's the "glass is half full" take on the whole situation. Maybe they can start giving away Xbox 360s with the purchase of Blue Dragon ... it's just a thought.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
me @ Jan 10th 2007 5:55PM
again i couldnt care less of what japanese gamer were playing
aragorn @ Jan 10th 2007 5:42PM
I feel like the only way that the 360 could be a success is if each unit came with a high class hooker.
or a body pillow.
eli sarver @ Jan 11th 2007 7:15AM
Or a body pillow with their favourite anime character on it.
Noshino @ Jan 10th 2007 6:32PM
"again i couldnt care less of what japanese gamer were playing"
they made the best games, so you better care, but then again, xbox is only good for hardcore fps (actually, that's the only good genre of games they got...with a few exceptions *points at article*)
so yeah, if you are a hardcore fps gamer, and an xbox fanboy, you shouldn't care about the japanese market
Measure @ Jan 10th 2007 7:24PM
Nothing MS does will be able to make the 360 an overnight success.
MS is still in the process of learning how to speak to the Japanese Gamer, and it's good to finally see some progress in the right direction.
I don't think anyone believes MS will be able to beat Nintendo or Sony this time around, though. That battle is already lost.
aragorn @ Jan 10th 2007 7:53PM
Noshino - While I understand where you're coming from, I kind of agree with "Me" on this one. Japan in many was is the very face of videogames, but in recent history, I can't help but think that the japanese gaming industry has been waning since... well pretty much since the PS1 generation. I think the main problem is that Japanese developers have been having a strange obsession with story telling, without bothering to write a story that makes sense, cut scenes overload, sequel-itis, and really weird (if half baked) design ideas.
On the other hand, i sometimes think that the american gaming industry has been making great strides in design in the past few years (which is why i got an xbox to begin with). Acclaim was the first developer to create the 3d stealth action game, which was further refined with the spectactular thief & then Splinter cell, while MGS only became a more stagnant (if not pretty) series. We have seen a swath of spectactular Racing games come out of the market, namely PGR3 & TDU, and the xbox 360 has been absolutely pioneering how games are played online.
Again, i understand your assessment of american games, but I still do believe that the american game industry has been making many strides in recent history, where the japanese industry has been stagnating (it feels like I'm really sweeping!). of course there are exceptions, but I still do agree with "Me."
who cares about the japanese gaming industry?
Murc @ Jan 10th 2007 9:30PM
by Measure: "I don't think anyone believes MS will be able to beat Nintendo or Sony this time around, though. That battle is already lost."
I assume your talking about the battle in Japan only...
Since MS is winning the console war.
Noshino @ Jan 10th 2007 9:40PM
mm..you might think that the japanese market isn't worth that much attention, but the company you seem to be loyal to does, otherwise they wouldn't try to push their console as much as they are trying to...
Story-telling, altho I'm all about gameplay, has always driven masses, just look as FFVII, I didn't really like the gameplay, but hell, if you ask ANYONE out there about FF, they ll say something about FFVII.
"and the xbox 360 has been absolutely pioneering how games are played online."
Give the Wii and the PS3 some time, and I'm sure they catch up. Oh, and it was the Dreamcast that brought online gaming onto the table :)
btw, you proved my point, you only named fps's and driving simulators....but have you played the GT demo? or F1? both are amazing, and yet they aren't american
Now, let me remind you that some time ago there was a huge hype about the 360 because Square Enix announced they would also make games for them, also because of Assasin's Creed (Ubisoft, just pointing it out against the american gaming industry) I should also point out Prince of Persia, now, those are franchises that move masses, and yet, they are not american :)
mm...I think I should have proved my point by now, the japanese gaming industry is farther away than you think....and it just seems to be a battle with the 360 on one side and both Wii and PS3 on the other one, guess who is winning?
Thank You V_V
aragorn @ Jan 10th 2007 10:08PM
Noshino - again, I completely understand where you're coming from, and your examples are completely valid... just... not to me.
The only exception to the rule was... well... FFVII... which is the perfect example of stagnation in the japanese industry. A perfect example of CGI obsession, with minimal & redundant gameplay (especially when you compare it to other RPGs), many iterations later. And when FF Online came around... oh my god, the fans didn't even want to change initially. over 10 iterations of the francise, and you'd think that the fans would be tired of it right now (but hey, that's just me. as far as I'm concerned, if your story can't match a book or a movie... or battlestar galactica (DON'T JUDGE ME!!!), then it's a bad idea to create a game around that story.
As for your other examples, again, I see where you're coming from. I don't agree with you on any of them, but I understand. I've played F1 (or at least I think the one that you're speaking of), and it was a great game, but as far as evolution, it contributed absolutely zip (again, don't get me wrong. I LUUUUV F1 racing). AS for GT... ummm... which one? GTR2?
anyway, I'm not gonna continue on this, cuz this is going the way of a forum war... however, I would absolutely love to debate this longer (mostly cuz I didn't understand all your points), so could you please drop me a line at aragornmarsden@yahoo.com? hope to talk with you
aero @ Jan 11th 2007 2:48AM
Noshino. I beg to differ. There have been some great revolutionary games to come from this side of the pacific. Yes some have been FPS like halo2's multiplayer matchmaking. It is a prime example of the evolution of online gaming. There are leagues of professional gamers who make a living off it. Theres no denying that it has changed online gaming. And almost made it mainstream.
Outside of RPG's. What evolution have you seen come from Japan as of late? I own a 360 so i dont pay much attention to what is coming out on the PS3. But from what i can tell, even the next evolution in RPG's is coming from Bioware's Mass Effect. And(fingers crossed) Lionhead's Fable2. Yes that may be a UK company. But its not in Japan. And neither is Ubisoft for that matter.
And theres alot more to American gaming than EA(thank god). What about Rockstar's GTA series for example. When i look at the games that will be coming out in the next year or so that really scream innovation. Many are from Europe or America. Japan is still a big part of it. But everyone else has caught up and are just as important.
mupwangle @ Jan 11th 2007 5:02AM
>>What about Rockstar's GTA series for example.
Rocktstar North are Scottish, not American.
Layla @ Jan 11th 2007 10:58AM
Not that I agree completely with Noshino, but I think the concern of some xbox 360 owners over its success in Japan is definitely valid. If you like JRPGs and driving sims, and you don't want to shell out the cash for a PS3, then your best hope is that the 360 doesn't completely flop in the land of the rising sun. I don't think that it needs to become a smash hit - it just needs to have a decent presence in order to keep those types of games coming.
Now, although recent comments about the Final Fantasy franchise has rattled me a bit (I'm a huge final fantasy fan), I do agree that as of this moment, I'm looking forward to Mass Effect much more than FFXIII (mainly because if FFXII was any indication, it'll take many more years for FFXIII to be released in the US). The fact that I adored Oblivion and am dying to get Mass Effect, however, does not negate my desire to play Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, or FFXIII in anyway. Chances are, I will play all of those games (yes honey, we're getting PS3 when FFXIII comes out...in like 2010). I also want more of those type of games to be made for the 360. While I can't play driving sims (since...well...I can't drive...and yes, I am over 21), I'm sure GT fans would love more GT type games on the 360.
So what are we poor souls to do but hope that the 360 doesn't completely crash and burn over there?
btw...giving a free 360 away with the purchase of Blue Dragon is an awesome idea!! just kidding :P