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Japanese retailers officially phasing out Xbox 360 sales

Lack of exclusives and no handheld tie-in cited as reasons for 360's further decline in Japan

Words: on August 18, 2011
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The Xbox 360 has never been hugely popular in Japan, but sales have finally dipped to the point that retailers in Japan have officially decided to begin phasing out the console and its games from store shelves to make way for games and systems that, you know, actually sell.

The further decline in sales can be attributed to many factors, but possibly the most fatally damaging has been the 360's lack of popular exclusive games in Japan. Kinect also sold poorly in Japan, so its release didn't provide the boost in sales and system longevity that we saw in the US. Because of this early dropoff of the 360, Microsoft may have trouble finding a way to convince Japanese retailers to carry the successor to the 360 when that time finally comes around, which isn't expected until at least 2014.

The good news is (at least for consumers), with shops looking to dump their current stock, 360 games can be found in bargain bins for as little as 100 yen, and the Halo: Reach hardware bundle has been spotted for as low as 9,980 yen (about $130). And although most physical stores will no longer carry Microsoft's gaming wares, Japanese consumers can still purchase 360s and 360 games online through sites like Amazon.  

Source: Next-Gen.biz

Aug 18, 2011

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Platforms:

Xbox 360

22 comments

  • nooobuuu - August 20, 2011 12:05 p.m.

    This doesn't at all surprise me. I live in Japan and love the country. It just seem like they are unwilling to change. Sony and Nintendo are way behind in the online gaming market and wont catch up anytime soon that I see with Microsoft. I own all of these systems but I play the Xbox the most because of the online experience it's just better. With Japanese games becoming less influential on games today it's not a big deal if Microsoft stops selling systems in Japan. They don't need that market. Microsoft outsells Sony in every other country but Japan so it's not that big a deal. Japanese game companies will still make games for Xbox but in one less country. I'm sad to see this happen but it's not a big deal at all. Ohhh...I wish Sega would come out with another console. I would by that in a heartbeat as they are my favorite gaming company.

  • mothbanquet - August 20, 2011 9:22 a.m.

    This isn't surprising and, you know what, there isn't much reason MS should care. Japan's relevance in the greater gaming world has deteriorated so much in recent years. Japanese-developed games used to be the innovators and benchmarks for all to aspire to but they've been relegated to niche genres and fandoms for a long time now. Western developers such as BioWare and Epic have now overtaken those at Konami and Capcom. Dead Space has toppled Resident Evil for survival horror, Mass Effect has spun a better tale than (recent) Final Fantasies. At the very least they have matched them, and proven that hey - Japan just isn't the be-all and end-all of the gaming industry any more.

  • wrayday - August 19, 2011 11:37 p.m.

    It always felt that Japan lacked the will, skill, or passion to properly program on the 360 to make games shine. Outside of Tecmo it seemed most companies were stuck on the PS2 graphics and it never showed what the system could do. Over all this may comeback and bite the Japanese game developers in the ass when they can no longer try and compete in the US market. I mean with digital downloads and hard drives they could in theory make games and sell them online instantly over xbl and not have to ship disc's to the states. Oh well they can keep their PSP's and I'll keep my 360.

  • alphafour - August 19, 2011 6:35 p.m.

    Maybe the Japanese realised that Microsoft was shit from the beginning.. and we westerners were too stupid to see the wood for the trees :P

  • Yeager1122 - August 19, 2011 4:46 p.m.

    If only this would happen over here with the ps3 so i could get one of those super cheap.

  • InfinityPrimo - August 19, 2011 3:23 p.m.

    @taterboob - you my friend are absolutely right! (Maybe not the devils part but you know what I mean). I currently live in Japan and I bought a 360 in Japan for the very reason that it was cheaper AND that was the new black slim model! The Japanese support SONY because its a Japanese company, BUT it wasn't until Apple that Japan began to embrace something completely Western besides MS Windows. Thing is Nintendo does better than Sony in Japan (speaking of games) and that is even MORE CRAZY. I once did a survey in a 3rd grade class I taught. I asked who has a 360? Nobody. PSP? Maybe 5 kids. PS3? 2 kids. Wii? Half the class. DS? EVERYBODY!!! (No exaggeration) Games in Japan, while a major culture, is designed for two specific groups, Otaku and Kids. Whereas in America games have wider appeal which is why 360 does well. 360 has always been the Americas console. That and shooters aren't that popular in Japan. Be that as it may I'm going to get some 100Yen games!!! HAHAHAHA!!!! Anybody want anything!? Most of the games are region free and have the English encoded already! This is great!

  • taterboob - August 19, 2011 2:26 p.m.

    Note to Microsoft: give up on Japan. As long as your and games are made by "foreign devils", it's not going to sell very well over there. Unless, of course, it features heavy usage of underage anime girls (idol master).

  • quincytheodore - August 19, 2011 4:47 a.m.

    Not only Japan but Asia region as well, trust me I live there. Usually x360 would make games with Japanese language and shipped it to Japan region, while those with English shipped to US. If you're in Asia region, just hope the publishers are generous or it got Region Free, because sometimes publishers don't think it'd sell or have enough interest and just skip it altogether. It got to the point where Japanese publishers don't even bother releasing games like Catherine, El Shaddai, FF XIII-2 and Deadly Premonition (yes, I checked) into Asia... We're like step-children who didn't get Xmas present here :(

  • Oujisama - August 19, 2011 2 a.m.

    I think this just proves the limited appeal of the 360. The PS3 still outsells it in every region except the US, so its small 3 million lead is completely concentrated in its own territory. All of its support is coming solely from avid American fans who only have a taste for shooters like Halo and COD.

  • megaklok - August 19, 2011 1:32 a.m.

    I don't really blame Japan at all. There isn't anything that interests me on the 360 that isn't on the PS3 also. The only reason I have for buying one would be when they get really cheap.

  • UsernameLoser - August 19, 2011 12:34 a.m.

    I personally think Microsoft should drop out of the business. PS3 and 360 are the same thing, except you have to pay for online for 360 and minor graphical quality. The only reason 360 is worth getting is for Twisted Pixel games.

  • UnrealSlayer92 - August 18, 2011 11:52 p.m.

    I think MS is wasting a ton of money on trying to get Japan's attention to the Xbox 360. Microsoft's better over here at the Western World.

  • CommandantOreo - August 18, 2011 11:44 p.m.

    Japan? That country still exists?

  • WelcomeGhosts10 - August 18, 2011 11:33 p.m.

    Here is an awesome survey about video game ownership, really backs up this decision: http://whatjapanthinks.com/2007/09/29/japanese-kids-prefer-the-nes-to-the-psp/

  • inkyspot - August 18, 2011 10:38 p.m.

    The Japanese have always supported the Japanese, I'm surprise the 360 sold there at all. THey rare support any non Japanese product, except maybe the Apple. Their games are not selling well here either. Can we all just get along. I guess not.

  • Bloodstorm - August 18, 2011 10:13 p.m.

    @MajorPonch, And the fact the Western games do far worse in Japan than Japanese games do in the West.

  • MajorPonch - August 18, 2011 9:59 p.m.

    @garnsr, PlayStation is Japanese made. It's sad that they aren't embracing Xbox, but at the same time it's Microsoft's fault for dropping the ball.

  • garnsr - August 18, 2011 9:55 p.m.

    How can the situations be so different in the different territories? I can't believe PS3 is that much more popular in Japan, while both are reasonably close in the States.

  • iluvpkmnmonday - August 18, 2011 9:30 p.m.

    Almost wish this would happen in American too so I could pick one up super cheap.

  • GAYMER - August 18, 2011 9:29 p.m.

    Wish I was still living in Japan. For those of you that don't know, 100 yen is equal to about 1 dollar.

Showing 1-20 of 22 comments

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