Xbox360's Second Week in Japan < Gamecube and Gameboy Micro [not combined]

[Great Rumbler]

Media Create Dec. 12-18:

DS 408,770
PSP 95,689
PS2 55,342
GBASP 19,098
GC 17,849
GBM 14,432
Xbox360 8,623
GBA 416
Xbox 182

Bill Gate am cry. :(

[A Black Falcon]

Nintendo, 459,000... Sony, 150,000... Microsoft, 8,805. Poor Microsoft, you'll never win in Japan... the Japanese like Western technology, but only so that they can then go and make copies of the stuff and buy those products instead. :) (which, of course, eventually end up better on average than the original products are by that point...)

... though I do think that the X360 will do better than Xbox in Japan. Just give it time for the Japanese-developed games to come out... the launch lineup there is unbelievably weak. And Microsoft is going to make sure that Japanese-developed games come out, even if they have to pay for them themself... (Sounds kind of like how Nintendo gets third parties to actually support the Gamecube, sadly enough...) :)

[Great Rumbler]

Do you hear that sound? It's the sound of dozens of Japanese development houses abandoning the quickly sinking Xbox360.

[Paco]

I think it's drowned out by the developers still stampeding away from the Gamecube.;)

[Weltall]

Wow. If you're beaten that badly by the Game Boy Micro, you deserve to die.

Maybe Japan is different, but here, in my corner of the playground, the Christmas shopping season is a month old now, and I haven't sold so much as a single GBM. Not one. I couldn't pay people to give a damn about it.

Stupid idea, that was.

[Great Rumbler]

It's still selling quite well in Japan. Bringing it to the US was the mistake.

I think it's drowned out by the developers still stampeding away from the Gamecube.

Ha! They left the GC ages ago. But unless the Xbox360 picks up a lot and very soon MS will find it very hard to convince Japanese companies to develop for their system.

[Dark Jaguar]

I'm just surprised the original model of the GBA is selling. I suppose it's cheaper than either the SP or the Micro...

[Paco]

It's still selling quite well in Japan. Bringing it to the US was the mistake.

I'd get one except I don't think it's worth more than $50, certainly not the $100 they are charging for it now. It's five year old technology if you're just counting the portables, and the unit itself doesn't have all the functionality of the other two GBA's (playing older Gameboy games).

Ha! They left the GC ages ago. But unless the Xbox360 picks up a lot and very soon MS will find it very hard to convince Japanese companies to develop for their system.

I don't think it's crucial that the Japanese necessarily buy into the 360, it's far more important that the two bigger markets do, the U.S. and Europe.

[Great Rumbler]

I don't think it's crucial that the Japanese necessarily buy into the 360, it's far more important that the two bigger markets do, the U.S. and Europe.

It's all but impossible for them to seize the number one spot without a strong showing in Japan, and that's what they really want.

[Paco]

It's all but impossible for them to seize the number one spot without a strong showing in Japan, and that's what they really want.

Sure they want the number one spot, but it's not a necessity in order to be successful. And what I meant is that the Japanese developers will stay if their games sell well in the U.S. and Europe, even if they do only okay in their homeland. They are in the business of making money after all. Developers won't up and leave within the coming months, that just wouldn't make sense to drop support when there isn't any other console available. And as it stands right now there are more 360's out there than PS3's or Revolutions. This time next year might be a different story, but we'll see.

[Sacred Jellybean]

Wow. If you're beaten that badly by the Game Boy Micro, you deserve to die.

Maybe Japan is different, but here, in my corner of the playground, the Christmas shopping season is a month old now, and I haven't sold so much as a single GBM. Not one. I couldn't pay people to give a damn about it.

Stupid idea, that was.

Amen.

[lazyfatbum]

Japan is such a weird market, they actually avoid buying American products. I dunno if its because they're krappy products or if they just dont want to buy American stuff but they sure dont buy it that's for sure.

The old rule still stands though, you cant be successful in this industry without support from Japan. Unless you actually enjoy games from EA... which means you're satan.

[Great Rumbler]

There's speculation that 409,000 is the biggest weeks of sales for any console in a non-launch period.