Experts tip Xbox 360 to struggle in Japan
Dec 7, 2005 @ 10:28 pm · By Blake Hurley
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According to Japanese industry analysts, the Xbox 360 will struggle to have an impact in the Japanese market when the new console is launched in the coming week. If this is the case, it would be a major blow to Microsoft who had hoped to significantly improve on the relatively small success they achieved with the original Xbox in the island nation.
With market-leader Sony expected to launch the Playstation 3 next spring, Microsoft hoped that the early release date of their next-generation machine would gain them a foothold to challenge for the number one position.
“Japan is a very important market for our global strategy, and launching our console ahead of rival platforms will give us a certain advantage.
Unless we achieve meaningful success here, we cannot say we are a winner in the next-generation console battle,”
Yoshihiro Maruyama, head of the Xbox division at the Japanese unit of Microsoft, told a news conference.
A report by Forbes, however, indicates that this will be difficult to achieve with a number of industry analysts tipping an uphill battle for the software giants.
“Given declining enthusiasm for the Xbox 360 by Japanese players and software makers, it would be almost impossible for Microsoft to overtake Sony or even Nintendo,”
said Yuichi Kobayashi, a Shinko Securities analyst.
“Even from the global viewpoint, unless Sony fails to bring the next-generation Playstation 3 consoles to the market on time, Microsoft appears to have almost no chance to be the industry leader,”
he added.
Others agree citing the lack of engaging launch games and limited capabilities - compared to those expected on the Playstation 3 - as the major reasons why Sony will continue to dominate in Japan.
“No one - consumers or software makers - has been talking about the Xbox 360 lately, although we only have a couple of days before the release.
Given also the fact that basic functions of Xbox 360 are inferior to Sony’s next-generation machine, and that there are not many newly-developed titles ready for the Japanese launch, Xbox 360 is not likely to become a must-buy console here in Japan,”
said Tokai Tokyo Research Center analyst, Nobuyuki Kawamata.
Hirotoshi Murakami, an analyst with Mitsubishi UFJ Securities, concurred, stating
“We had previously thought that Xbox 360 could gain a major share of the Japanese market by taking some market share from front-runner Sony Computer.
But we now think that such a prospect may not be realized, given the limited attractiveness of its titles and its lukewarm functions,”
With Microsoft setting the aim of selling over a million Xbox 360 consoles by summer 2006, they will endure a nervous wait to see what kind of reaction the new machine recieves at the launch, which is set for December 10.
Source: Forbes
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