Revealed: why the Japanese hate the 360
The 360 has done shit in Japan. Now that that is out of the way, perhaps we can explore why the piece of kit that is loved across America and Europe does such a poor job at selling consoles in the Land of the Rising Sun. Parappa the Rapper creator Masaya Matsuura was on hand to explain why the Japanese simply don’t want a 360.
Speaking at the Nordic Games convention, Matsuura said the problem was with the AC adapter. Presumably, the Japanese don’t like a giant brick lying around in their living room or bedroom as it is an ugly sight to see. Hiding the brick seems not to be the answer, but not buying the machine itself seems to solve the problem for consumers.
The PS3 also came under fire too. Whilst the PS3 has sold notably better than the 360, it still hasn’t done quite as well as hoped. This is not down to the fact that the PS3 is too expensive or the software lineup isn’t that great, but because the PS3 itself is simply too big. Yes it is big, but would it really stop you buying a console, regardless of brand?
Naturally the Wii came away as the winner of the three, although he did confess that the console was hard to develop for.
So Microsoft, will you reduce the size of the brick (or remove it completely) to stand a better chance of winning over the Japanese public? Unlikely, but if MS want to stand any chance of winning over the Far East, they might just want to jot down a few notes.
common ps3 too big? just poor excuses because they are both great and they know it…
i’d never judge a consol by its ac adapter size or original size itself.. unless i was a neat freak and didn’t want it showin…
admin-edit: no racism, or expect this site to stop working for you
admin-edit: no racism, or expect this site to stop working for you
How about both of you stop sterotyping a race you assholes…
You dont judge consoles, but you sure can judge a race. GG buddy!
Whats with all the race bashing? Japs!! 4 ft tall…maybe Microsoft being an American company is the reason. And the fact that theres no games that made me even think of purchasing a PS3….yet. Good to see Racism still strives in the streets of America.
Japs isn’t racist, it is a shortening of nationality, the only thing that makes words like Jap racist is perception and the current over indulgence in political correctness.
Indeed. Like “swedes”, “danes” and so on.
But I’m guessing their comments were worse…
Did they not buy a Game Cube? I belive that also had a brick, sure not as big but it still had one
Thats the biggest pile of bull i have ever heard. The reasn the 360 isn’t doing so well is because the japs are still buying dreamcasts and PS2s
Hmmm, some good points here, but there are physical reasons that the power brick is needed, so i don’t think it will go away.
Well the Japenese are a different type of gamers. There more likely to play Role-players, Date simulators and Dancing games. 360 has alot of FPS like Gears of War which they say has too much GORE. 360 just dont have the games that appeal to them. GoW, Rainbow six, Halo 3, Comdemed, GRaw2, they dont like that stuff.
P.S. They liked Viva Pinata
The do have space issues over there so I guess 1 cubic foot wasted on a power brick is a big deal… :$
Seriously though, limited space (some of them live in 10′x20′ “apartments”) can be a valid reason especially when space efficiency is ingrained in their culture.
That Brick is troublesome. My 360 sits on a shelf just high enough that my BRICK lol dangles mid-air….I love my 360.
Well japanese people are used to have things small…he he he
For a nation that is supposed to be very much into their gaming, the Japanese seem to have mssed the mark with what is pretty much the best console out to date………the X-Box 360 !!
Wii has the same “brick” - it is twice less in size but it is still brick. But Wii is the top selling console at Japan.
The reason is ….. (fill it yourself)
admin-edit: no racism, or expect this site to stop working for you
I dont know how the Wii is out-selling 360 and well 360 anywhere.
I think MS best strategy would be to just forget about Japan entirely; not waste money marketing, shipping, developing, advertising or anything in Japan. Maybe a black out of those sorts would peek their interests in what the rest of the world is into and likes. I could care less what they play in Japan, on what system or what their idea of feng shui is. Why is it Microsofts problem that the Japanese don’t like the power brick??
I mean come on why do we care that they don’t like the 360?
I hate playstations period and have never owned one; and the Wii isn’t that just another reference back to Japanese size?
Let them have theirs and I’ll have mine. I like ours better anyway.
Unfortunately it’s far from beeing that easy. To understand why Microsoft is investing so much into the japanese market you have to understand that the xbox itself has always been Microsoft’s ticket into the living room, and to get the brand accepted for more than just software. The strategy is is actually quite old by now but they still follow it, trying to make Microsoft a brand known not only at the office but also at home and in the living room. As such a gaming console seemed the best option at the time and that is how the xbox came to be. Knowing that you will understand that they cannot ingnore a market like Japan which is huge for home electronics. Also, the most creative and successfull game designers originate in the very same country Microsoft has such a tough time getting a foothold in.
It comes down to the famous “cat bites it’s own tail” problem for them in Japan but ultimately they have to succeed there in the long run to make sure their brand can make a widespread entry into our living rooms within the next 10 years.
Funny thing is that, no matter how you look at it, in the end the whole xbox thing is just brand marketing
Same goes for the Zune stuff. It’s all just to accept the brand name Microsoft into our living rooms for stuff like televisions, set top boxes, media players and whatever you could possibly think of.
Strange opinion ….
The part of technologies used in XBox360 belongs to Japanese companies.
The Japanese poor, when did this happen…
starcraft 2 !!!!!!
I’m in japan and I know this is total wrong.
It’s not because of the size.It’s because almost all the japanese media ,like biggest game mag,Famitsu,are on SONY side and they never wanna tell good thing nor even the exsistence of 360 itself to public.
so simply people don’t know almost nothing about 360 unless you are a hardcore gamer like me.plus,japanese MS promotion is total shit as you know what happened about gears of war
but PS3 being too much shit and doomed even in japan,things can be changed soon hopefully.
Mr.Matsuura is wrong.
Big adapter is not big problem.
The problem is MS Japan’s badness marketing.
Mr.Hironobu Sakaguchi is right.
The PS3 doesn’t have a brick? omg! 360 for sale for 5 bucks i want a ps3! it will look pretty in my living room. because its not how you play but how you look that matters.
AND apparently my 62″ inch television and my ginormous entertainment center with a very nice looking 360 that has a library of games that doesn’t bore me after 10 minutes can’t hide the 3″x2″x8″ power supply hiding in the back with 5058043864863092809245860918094183092 FUCKING CABLES
come on guys you gotta remember japan is also the place where people buy girls soiled underwear out of vending machines, strange place:)
People people… bringing up Nintendo and Sony stuff is the WRONG thing to do in this circumstance. They can GET more leeway with stuff, because they’re established. Microsoft’s XBOX isn’t. It’s a foreign, different thing, not catering to their market.
Why all of you are walking around the obvious straight answer?
The answer is: Japs deny american cars, movies and lifestyle. And not only american. More it looks like a boycott of XBox360 in Japan. People there have a national idea. There is no nation-wide slogan like “Dont buy XBox360″, no! It sounds like “All japanese products are the best of the world”. And noone is going to argue that idea there. Xbox360 is an american product that means it is worse. And microsoft has nothing to do with that. At first 2 days from releasing XBox360 in Japan only 1000 units were sold. People didnt buy XBox360 cuz they had a Japanese product. Only after some titles appeared that were made esp for Japan they began to buy X360 (approx 360 000 units were sold) And only because those titles were made by Japanese developers.
I agree to a certain extent. The Japs are very patriotic…. they prefer products made by Japs. This is even true of Japs that live in North America…. 95% of them drive Japanese cars. Ever see a chink in a Caddy? Nope.
And quality is way more important than price in Japan….. For us it’s usually the opposite.
They produce allot of cheap stuff… dollar store crap, but they sell it to us….. And with their profits… they buy hello kitty backpacks encrusted with diamonds.
that’s retarded lol who cares about the power supply
admin-edit: no racism, or expect this site to stop working for you
Oh the irony.
many of Japanese don’t care about it.
you’re really believe his story?
adaptor size is no probrem for japanese gamer.
almost japanese is not try to know xbox360…it’s most serious problem.
Japonese are cool people, but this excuse sucks!
you guys gotta think they’re technology is like 10years ahead of us they want something that looks futuristic but us Americans/Europeans want is just a good system and games which is the 360.
how dare you put the dirty yanks and europeans in the same phrase!
Americans… how can you live with yourselves?
How can you Euros live with yourself? You have no freedom. You live in a police state. Cameras on every corner so you feel “safe”. Your the ones who will usher in the One World Government. You are the danger the world faces. The banking elite from Europe rule the world. If America is so bad why do you lap up our culture and entertainment? I know it is what the cool kids are doing but get your own yard in check before you bash America.
http://www.thisislondon.c...article-23397459-details/‘Flying+saucer’+police+spy+camera+takes+to+the+skies/article.do
LOL, like all other Americans (except the ones that aren’t convinced into thinking they are the only important one on the planet) a bit misguided.
Yup there are far too many CCTV’s in Britain, but that ain’t Europe. And the reason they managed to get that many is because of the spin that America puts on the whole Terrorist situation where they constanly control your country by making sure your population lives in a state of fear over where or when the next evil terrorist with horns sprouting out his head is going to strike.
So as our PM is in your President’s back pocket they try the same shit over here which is why they reached a situation where they could get this stuff in without argument from the population.
So the problems you report are a direct result of the situation your country has caused.
So if you are going to come out with a stereotypical Amrican comment don’t ruin other peoples perception of other “ok” Americans by opening your uninformed trap.
They get everything cheaper than us in europe and still complain, now that pisses me off. Comeon “THE SIZE” Please. Microsoft open your eyes and give europe some credit for been faithfull.
A brick is the dumbest excuse ever and its no where near that.
Gunnar2906 got it spot on. The simple fact that its all in the brand name, and the fact that the 360 is an American owned console, whilst the PS/Nintendo brand is their own. Thats all it is, plain and simple.
MS can spend all their money trying to market the 360 over there, but they’ll be just wasting their time and finances.
The best game developers are in Redmond WA at a place called bungie studios and in North Carolina at EPIC. Not to mention Nintendo games are developed in Redmond and SOCOM is developed in Redmond. So the statement “the most creative and successfull game designers originate” in Japan is a tough buy for me. I tell you cut them off continue to develop hot games and they will want it! There is nothing worse than what you can’t have.
I’m japanese and I love xbox360 FPS/TPS!
but…OMG almost japanese seems to love fuckin story RPG that gets headache when playing,and brain training mini game…
I’m too sad.
If they can make the xbox 360 the same size as the wii then i think it will be a hit oh yeah and a smaller brick will be nice.
no the real reason is that the 360 is shite and the brain washin M$ have been putting on the western world does not work over there
Masaya Matsuura is stuupid. Most 360 games are designed by American studios or for the American/European audience. When Japanese studios begin to develop for the 360 the Japanese will buy. Something Americans cannot understand is how a Pokemon game can outsell every other game. At least I cannot understand it. But the Japanese tend to like the more civil games, which is wy the Wii is so succesful.
haha lol 3 ” no racism” entries a page… lolololol
But its true the japanese are weired .. AND THATS A FACT …. you can delet those posts with such statements…. i dont care… it just remains like it is..
The fact is that when X360 appeared at the japanese market many potential customers told something like that: “We know what all your american games are about!” Sad but true - the most games stuffed with violance and hatred. As s2 wrote most of Japs like story RPG with some allegoric plot and brain-training puzzles. As all oriental people whey are practical even when playing games.
It is not a reason to consider that all Japs are weird. Even more, if you try to take their point of view it seems to be much weirder to spend hours sitting in from of a TV-set and virtually killing each other to prove something unprovable in the most cases.
this last post hit the nail on the head.
perhaps we americans wanna play multiplayer but maybe we need to find a more different way than killing each other all day long.
I don’t mind killing things.