NEWS - Sunday, December 11, 2005
Xbox 360 Doesn’t Conquer Japan
If we are to believe the incoming reports from the Japanese market, Microsoft has failed to generate the kind of excitement in the Japanese market with their Xbox 360 gaming console as they did in North America and Europe. The response is more subdued in the market of the company’s biggest rivals in the gaming industry, Sony. Microsoft continues to hope to do better in this market where they aim to overtake the popularity of both Sony and Nintendo gaming consoles. Both these local players are due to launch their own next generation gaming machines next year. Sony is due to come out with their Sony Playstation 3 and Nintendo would be launching their Nintendo Revolution. Their were long queues outside the stores retailing this new product from the world’s largest software company but it was in no way near the rush surrounding the console in the American and European markets. Early sales of this console are also said to be lower than what the company expected. Japanese video gaming market is traditionally dominated by Sony and Nintendo and is the second biggest in the world after USA. Microsoft has launched only the premium version of the console in Japan and they have priced it at 39,795 yen (USD 331; £188). This is quite a discount over the console’s American pricing of USD 399. Market research has indicated that a lot of gamers are still divided over which console to buy and are waiting for Sony to launch their PS3 before deciding to settle on one of these two consoles.Source: http://games.techwhack.com/
