Xbox One launches in Japan


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It doesn't have to sell great, just better than the 360 before it.   It'd help if they could get more exclusives out of some Japanese developers though. 

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If you don't mind could please pastebin the article? I don't want to give Kotaku any hits.

No. Check the article for the photos (which can't be pastebinned).

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I love that Yusuf Mehdi was so pleased with the Forza 5 crowd photo & a fan sharing it :rofl:

 

 

 

If you don't mind could please pastebin the article? I don't want to give Kotaku any hits.

 

You're not missing anything, just lots of empty streets / queues / shops not opening for launch.

 

Article reads...

 

Today, the Xbox One finally went on sale in Japan. The launch looked rather depressing. But maybe you saw that coming, right?

 

Granted, these days, it's really hard to tell how hardware does. People can order stuff online, so there isn't the same emphasis on launch lines, like as in the past. That being said, if there are lots of people waiting for something?say, Yokai Watch toys?then it's possible to make a popularity assumption. But that is exactly what it is: an assumption.

 

Still, the Xbox One launch in Japan looks like a total downer. I'm sure there are Japanese gamers excited to get it, and a few people did appear to line up for the console. But, man, these photos circulating online do not look good for the Xbox One's chances in Japan.

 

Note that today is September 4 in Japan.

 

As Japanese game site Inside pointed out, Xbox Japan held a special mid-night launch countdown event. Everyone seems so excited counting down to today.

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I love that Yusuf Mehdi was so pleased with the Forza 5 crowd photo & a fan sharing it :rofl:

 

 

 

 

You're not missing anything, just lots of empty streets / queues / shops not opening for launch.

 

Article reads...

 

Omg I didn't know that was a thing until I saw this lol

 

lXzCxf7.png

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This may sound harsh. 

 

But if I were MS, I would of not bothered launching in Japan. But make sure that the console is ready to be launched in Japan at any time.  I would have thrown a ton of $ to Japanese developers to develop exclusively for the One.  Make sure the games reach as many people the world over as possible (but still making sure that the Japanese are the true target(s) audience for the games)...  

 

And do my best to kinda "tease" on what they are missing out on.  Then trickle the consoles into stores to see how they fair.

 

but that just me.

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I for one am glad MS is still pushing into the region. I only hope they push hard enough to keep securing content from Japanese developers. Another good announcement marred by negative points.

I don't know if MS really cares about big sales numbers, although beating 360 sales would probably be nice and I think that is a doable goal. Getting Japanese developers on board may be more valuable to them than huge sales numbers.

Even the ps4 isn't doing terribly well at the moment, but then the Japanese market is completely different from the rest of the console market, so that's to be expected.

I expect sales to be slow and low compared to the rest of the consoles and the usual laughs and jokes around here and elsewhere. Standard fair when it comes to MS and the Japanese market. If MS manages to outpace 360 sales, I would consider that a win. If they also secure most, if not all, of the Japanese gaming content that the ps4 gets, then that is also a win. They need to get games like Guilty Gear Xrd, Disgaea, Persona, etc, etc. Their efforts at the start of the 360's life were definitely worth it in regards to the Japanese content produced.

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This may sound harsh. 

 

But if I were MS, I would of not bothered launching in Japan. But make sure that the console is ready to be launched in Japan at any time.  I would have thrown a ton of $ to Japanese developers to develop exclusively for the One.  Make sure the games reach as many people the world over as possible (but still making sure that the Japanese are the true target(s) audience for the games)...  

 

And do my best to kinda "tease" on what they are missing out on.  Then trickle the consoles into stores to see how they fair.

 

but that just me.

 

They tried that with the 360 and it didn't work out.

 

I think they've even resigned themselves by now, expecting to do poorly (as will PS4 no doubt), but almost forced to sell in the region anyway.

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Disappointing for MS, but as Brendeth says, the PS4 isn't exactly flying of the shelves here either.

The hardcore gamer demographic in Japan is much smaller than it used to be, with most young gamers favouring handhelds.

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:rolleyes:

The funny thing is, if you didn't post that picture, I doubt anyone else that has taken part in this thread would be bothered to do it. The idea is to just leave it as it was to make sure the joke sticks :laugh:

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Again, no one expects any sales records, the goal is to sell enough to get the Japanese developers onboard and happy.  MS can do more of course to make the XB1 look better, all the media features will help I'm sure and an app store will be big to.  The rest is just trying to get more games they'll like on the system, for now the only reason I'm still looking at a PS4 is because I know it's going to get a good chunk of JRPGs that I'm interested in.  As far as multiplatforms go, in most cases I can just get those on the PC at this point, so even with the XB1, it's about the exclusives.

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They tried that with the 360 and it didn't work out.

 

I think they've even resigned themselves by now, expecting to do poorly (as will PS4 no doubt), but almost forced to sell in the region anyway.

 

 

I guess MS didn't take into account, that being mobile is the way to go now in Japan.

 

If I were MS, maybe call up Nintendo to see if some kind of partnership can be had to get some games on the 3DS.  Getting some of those Microsoft published/made windows phone & Windows 8 games on to the 3DS may be a better way to go.  Slap the Xbox Games moniker on them and see how that works out.

 

Then makes those same games and saves accessible on the One as well.  Then maybe it can transition to a console sale here and there.

 

 

I really hope MS has some kind of MMO or MOBA ready for China.  I think those are the 2 biggest game genres going on over there right now.

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I really hope MS has some kind of MMO or MOBA ready for China.  I think those are the 2 biggest game genres going on over there right now.

In fact they do. Neverwinter is an mmorpg that will launch with the console launch in China.

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