Xbox ain't doing so well

In Japan the Xbox is a disaster. Sales reports say that even the DISCONTINUED dreamcast sold more units then the Xbox. It's almost a fact that if it doesn't do well in a Japan it's not gonna ever dominate anywhere else. So I don't think VF4 is gonna be on the Xbox because it just won't sell. It would
just be a waste of money for Sega.

See it for your self-
<a target="_blank" href=http://www.gamers.com/news/1132721>http://www.gamers.com/news/1132721</a>

 

The Playstation's been beating X-box as well. It's a shame.....

 

What Is MS Thinking?

Media Create report on the first week of April (4/1 - 4/7)
PS2: 80,734 units
GameCube: 15,068 units
PS One: 3,959 units
Dreamcast: 3,427 units
Microsoft: 2,179 units

That's not just getting outsold; that's getting your corporate @$$ handed to you drippin' in it...

<font color=orange>Clearly, Japanese gamers are not taking well to the American-made gaming console. Many analysts are calling for Microsoft to drop the Xbox price in Japan, but others say it's not the price, but the Xbox games that are simply not appealing to the market.</font color=orange>

And what are they expecting over in the ivory towers at MS? Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, Halo, GUNVALKERIE, RalliSport Challenge and DOA3 are among their most glorious works to date but they still don't have anything that seperates them from the rest of the field. PSM reveled about the same thing in their issue this month...

 

Re: What Is MS Thinking?

Well highking, I think Microsoft is an acception to the rule that if Japan doesnt like it. It doesnt succede because Microsoft isnt a Japan based company anyways. US propably has way more Xbox/Micro followers than Japan so that already has us buying more Xbox....and we are a bigger country. (USA)

 

not surprisin becuase no good companies have made any good games for it the best one is onimusha x this is sad even worse thing is ps one which graphics r 10 times worse sold more copies microsoft should jus stick to computors

 

Re: What Is MS Thinking?

They've already caught me. As soon as Panzer Dragoon Orta is released, I will own an Xbox. It's a shame really, Xbox is a powerful console but it's ugly and cumbersome to wield. Combined with Microsoft's brand, the lack of trust Japan has for anything not Japanese and the just plain ludicrously high price at launch. It hasn't been given a good start.

However, Microsoft is rich and it's still early. They need key titles, PDO will go some way to snaring the hardcore and DOA3 is a juicy bone for the casual but they need a Gran Turismo to get both under one roof. Not an easy task.

 

Re: What Is MS Thinking?

Yeh too bad the Xbox is soo ugly. The thing that is angering me with them is the revival sega games will be comming out on Xbox [rumor] I hear Streets of Rage 4 will be Xbox Excl, the new TJ and EARL [/rumor] I need to play Gunvalkyrie too! But nooo, too bad sega hurt my video game life........I still need a PS

 

Microsoft typically needs several iterations to get something right: the original Word for Windows sucked, but look where its competitors WordPerfect, et al are today. Of course, Microsoft will sometimes quietly exit an industry and retool for awhile before deciding whether to get back into the market or not (e.g. WinCE... then PocketPC).

So while XBOX may not be the runaway success MS hoped outside of the US, it'll be interesting to see whether they decide to pour more resources into a 2nd or 3rd version, or whether they'll cut their losses and run.

Meanwhile, the $100 price drop on both PS2 and XBOX is great for consumers! (But one wonders, from a business perspective, whether both companies would have been better off leaving prices at $299 instead...)

Edit: To make this somewhat VF-related... it would seem that the earlier rumors of VF4.1 appearing on XBOX in Japan might be less likely to materialize given dismal XBOX sales in Japan and Asia ex-Japan. However, it might be possible if that there is an upgrade (VF Evolution or VF4.1 or whatever, but this is still just a rumor), it might appear in Japan on the PS2 and in the US on the X-Box if Bill Gates really sees VF4.1 as a killer app and buys the exclusive conversion rights for US consoles (just like how MS paid Sega $$$$ for Shenmue II on XBOX).

 

Hmmm... Exclusivity...

Good point, FeixaQ. Exclusivity is may be key to MS getting back some of the market. And like you pointed out, it has to be a KILLER APP like a Mario title for GameCube or Tekken for PS2. Otherwise, all that money is going to slip through their fingers. We all know MS is a mega-player in the world market. I wonder how long their patience is for this kind of thing. Maybe the Shooter part of the Market is really huge. Personally, it gives me a headache playing those games... If MS is going to go for exclusivity with a VF4.1 (or whatever), it's going to need the Asian Market to start buying the console. Still, Soul Calibur 2 was a cool app and it didn't do a whole lot for DC. Two years and 'good-bye'...

 

Re: Hmmm... Exclusivity...

If Microsoft does shitty in Japan, the Japanese developers won't develop for the Xbox cause they know they will lose money, instead they will go to another consoles where they know they can sell. The PS2 is dominating almost everywhere. I really think Microsoft will abandon the Xbox if it's sales remain this way.

The gamecube ain't doing so great either.

 

Re: What Is MS Thinking?

Just a question - who cares what it looks like? I am not looking at the console when I am playing games....

 

Re: Hmmm... Exclusivity...

Wrong - they will develop for the Xbox knowing they can get rich when the game drops overseas...

 

Re: Hmmm... Exclusivity...

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr>

If Microsoft does shitty in Japan, the Japanese developers won't develop for the Xbox cause they know they
will lose money

<hr></blockquote>

Well, the Megadrive didn't exactly sell truckloads in Japan but still had a high amount of JP developers doing work for it... many whose games never got released outside of Japan.

 

Re: Hmmm... Exclusivity...

Shadowdean: The PS2 is also dominating in the U.S. and I expect PS2 sales to soar because of the recent price drop. They can get rich with the PS2 in Japan, the U.S. and everywhere else.

 

Re: Hmmm... Exclusivity...

First of all, keep in mind that I am not an xbox, ps2, or any system supporter...I don't have a lot of love for either company. That being said...
Microsoft is doing phenominally well in america...and that is still the most important market for video games. Microsoft has more money and power than the devil itself also...

 

Re: Hmmm... Exclusivity...

So is this that....Microsoft has sooo much money they can afford to lose money on a console /versus/images/icons/laugh.gif? Thank you Satan.

 

Re: Hmmm... Exclusivity...

No it isn't the most important market for video games, Japan is where videogames sell, that's why games are released there first and then the U.S. For example: Japan sold nearly a million copies of Final Fantasy IX on the first day, while in the U.S. it took several months to reach the million mark. The same with other games, it sells more in Japan then anywhere else in the world.

I'm so FUCKIN' right!

 

Re: Hmmm... Exclusivity...

You tell that to Kojima and Konami .
So where was MGS2 released first and where were its sales highest ?

 

Re: Hmmm... Exclusivity...

Big fucking deal Al you came up with one exception. Metal Gear Solid sold better in the US so as a rewars we got the sequel before the Japanese. Games still sell much better overall in Japan.

 

Re: Hmmm... Exclusivity...

No they do not, as a matter of fact the biggest market is the PAL market ( over a billion people ) and the highest amount of total sales for hard AND software is within Europe .
Yet ussualy we STILL get the short end of the stick .