Support for Microsoft Grows in Japan
It's still in last place in the eyes of many, but at least it's got that whole upwards motion thing working.
Microsoft has gone to a lot of effort to court Japanese gamers, most recently by securing offerings from big-name Japanese developers such as Hironobu Sakaguchi (known for the Final Fantasy series), Tetsuya Mizuguchi (Rez) and Yoshiki Okamoto (Street Fighter). And if a recent survey is to be believed, the company's actions are starting to see results.
The original Xbox has sold around half a million units in
Japan since its launch there over three years ago
When asked by Japan's most popular video game weekly, Famitsu, which console they thought would come out on top in the next generation, developers, retailers and consumers all gave the edge to PlayStation 3 by a significant margin. No surprise there.
The interesting bit is that while Xbox 360 came in third behind Revolution with consumers and developers, the difference between Microsoft and Nintendo's new consoles was smaller than Nintendo would like to see. Retailers, on the other hand were almost uniform in seeing neither console posing a threat to Sony's hegemony.
This could come down to buzz - Sony stole the show at E3 with the PlayStation 3 announcement, while Microsoft is preparing to launch Xbox 360 in Japan this December. Nintendo, which had a relatively quiet E3, will only have Revolution in stores in Japan in the middle of 2006 at the earliest.
Whatever happens, though, it seems that Microsoft will at the very least increase its currently meagre footing in Japan.
Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games
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