Microsoft Xbox 360 a “failure” in Japan? It seems as though the Xbox 360 has been a “failure” in Japan. With reports of less than half of the allocation for Japan being sold and from what I’ve seen first hand in Tokyo, it really does not appear that the sales are going as well as Microsoft had hoped. The first-hand reports from Microsoft employees seems as if they were drinking too much Kool-Aid when one compares their accounts of the events with actual “news” reports.

In my opinion, This analysis of the Xbox 360 failure in Japan hits the nail on the head.

Microsoft generally doesn’t get it. They never have, at least not in the gaming world.

Why?

Because, as a company, they have no passion for gaming. It is merely another market to conquer. A way to grow their earnings and reassure stock holders of a bright future.

Halo is all well can good, but the Xbox doesn’t have any culturally significant titles for the Japanese gamers.

It takes 30 seconds playing Halo 2, to know it would not be a huge hit in Japan. There isn’t enough emotional expression in the main character, and a rather dry voice. Far too sterile a proposition for the Japanese market.

Gaming reviews, like G4 TV’s X-Play, love to bash on games from Asia for having too much emotion or asexual visuals.

Until U.S. game developers embrace the cultural aspects, and as noted in Unsanity post, launch Japan exclusive content adhering to the elements valued by those gamers, they will fail.

In the end the Xbox 360 will be a successful product outside Japan, but it is obvious that it was rushed to market.

Gates and Ballmer should have put their foot down and not launched until more truly spectacular titles like, Gears or War, were ready.