Confirmed: Microsoft is stupid--Xbox 360 sales flop in Japan
from 
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JoeUser Forums
Not necessarily "flop," but certainly underwhelming....
The article snipped below details the lackluster sales -- less than half of the units shipped to stores in Japan were purchased. Sales are reportedly more lackluster than were the sales of the original Xbox which also were underwhelming.
In the instance of the original Xbox's there was the built-in excuse of Sony had the PS2 out first, but in the current case, Microsoft has their hot new console out first and yet they can't break into the Asian market because of brand loyalty to Sony, and more importantly for Microsoft perhaps, because they just haven't been putting out the types of gaming applications that Japan clamors for.
Either way, this latest news just makes gamers (like me) here in the states all the more angry that Microsoft opted to deliver boxes to an unwilling and ungrateful market while failing to meet demand here at home. Had Microsoft shipped those units here to the states they'd be gone quicker than the trucks could be emptied, yet in Japan they sit on store shelfs waiting for some warm body to hopefully come take one home.
Why is it that I now forsee a rush on the internet to buy "imported" consoles? Oooops, perhaps not so quickly, since the boxes are likely region locked or otherwise hampered so as to be unusable here in the U.S. without some modifications that aren't quite out there yet. I guess that will hold down the import market for a little while, but it certainly is bad P.R. for Microsoft to be shipping systems overseas when so many have been left wanting back here at home.
Original article snippet follows. Please see original for complete story. Headline is linked.
Xbox 360 Gets a Soft Start in Japan
Dec 13, 7:51 AM (ET)
By HANS GREIMEL
TOKYO (AP) - Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)'s new Xbox 360 video game console got a lukewarm welcome in Japan on its debut weekend with fans buying fewer than half the games available in stores, a market researcher said Tuesday.
Microsoft, which started selling the Xbox 360 in Japan on Saturday, is trying to break into the world's second-largest video game market and challenge the longtime dominance of Sony Corp. (SNE)'s PlayStation.
Microsoft sold 62,135 machines over the weekend, or just 39 percent of the 159,000 consoles it is estimated to have shipped to stores, according to data from market researcher Enterbrain Inc.
The figures indicate a slower start than the original Xbox, which failed in Japan. The first Xbox sold about 123,000 units in the first three days of its launch in 2002, according to Tokyo-based Enterbrain.
... more at original story linked above
The article snipped below details the lackluster sales -- less than half of the units shipped to stores in Japan were purchased. Sales are reportedly more lackluster than were the sales of the original Xbox which also were underwhelming.
In the instance of the original Xbox's there was the built-in excuse of Sony had the PS2 out first, but in the current case, Microsoft has their hot new console out first and yet they can't break into the Asian market because of brand loyalty to Sony, and more importantly for Microsoft perhaps, because they just haven't been putting out the types of gaming applications that Japan clamors for.
Either way, this latest news just makes gamers (like me) here in the states all the more angry that Microsoft opted to deliver boxes to an unwilling and ungrateful market while failing to meet demand here at home. Had Microsoft shipped those units here to the states they'd be gone quicker than the trucks could be emptied, yet in Japan they sit on store shelfs waiting for some warm body to hopefully come take one home.
Why is it that I now forsee a rush on the internet to buy "imported" consoles? Oooops, perhaps not so quickly, since the boxes are likely region locked or otherwise hampered so as to be unusable here in the U.S. without some modifications that aren't quite out there yet. I guess that will hold down the import market for a little while, but it certainly is bad P.R. for Microsoft to be shipping systems overseas when so many have been left wanting back here at home.
Original article snippet follows. Please see original for complete story. Headline is linked.
Xbox 360 Gets a Soft Start in Japan
Dec 13, 7:51 AM (ET)
By HANS GREIMEL
TOKYO (AP) - Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)'s new Xbox 360 video game console got a lukewarm welcome in Japan on its debut weekend with fans buying fewer than half the games available in stores, a market researcher said Tuesday.
Microsoft, which started selling the Xbox 360 in Japan on Saturday, is trying to break into the world's second-largest video game market and challenge the longtime dominance of Sony Corp. (SNE)'s PlayStation.
Microsoft sold 62,135 machines over the weekend, or just 39 percent of the 159,000 consoles it is estimated to have shipped to stores, according to data from market researcher Enterbrain Inc.
The figures indicate a slower start than the original Xbox, which failed in Japan. The first Xbox sold about 123,000 units in the first three days of its launch in 2002, according to Tokyo-based Enterbrain.
... more at original story linked above