Microsoft's Xbox consoles have never done well in Japan, and 2008 was no exception. We learned earlier this week that the entire Japanese videogame industry fared poorly overall last year, dropping 15 percent compared to 2007 numbers. And despite its modest growth there last year, the Xbox 360 once again found itself at the bottom of the heap.
According to new data released by Enterbrain's Famitsu Marketing Data Service, the Xbox 360 sold 23 percent more units in Japan in 2008 than it did in 2007, but that didn't help the console seriously break into the market.
In 2008, the 360 controlled just 2.6 percent of the videogame hardware market in Japan by volume. That translates to 317,859 units, up from 257,841 units in 2007. By comparison, PlayStation 2 made up 3.9 percent of the market, PlayStation 3 controlled 8.1 percent, and Nintendo's platforms made up more than 45 percent of overall sales.
The platforms shake out similarly in terms of software sales, with the 360 coming in last place with 1.8 million units sold, or just 2.7 percent of overall volume sales. No Xbox 360 games made the list of the top 30 games in Japan in 2008. But then again, the only PlayStation 3 game to make the cut was Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, which charted at No. 11. The rest of the list belonged only to PSP, PS2, Wii and DS games.
Microsoft's partnership with Square-Enix and Bandai Namco to publish Xbox 360-exclusive RPGs in Japan last year doesn't appear to have made much of an impact, although Tales of Vesperia sold about 155,000 copies there and caused a temporary shortage of Xbox 360 consoles. Microsoft's Japan Square exclusives -- Last Remnant and Infinite Undiscovery -- also failed to significantly spur 360 sales, likely because they didn't have the words final, fantasy, dragon or age in their titles.
source
the 360 must not have enough RPG's.
According to new data released by Enterbrain's Famitsu Marketing Data Service, the Xbox 360 sold 23 percent more units in Japan in 2008 than it did in 2007, but that didn't help the console seriously break into the market.
In 2008, the 360 controlled just 2.6 percent of the videogame hardware market in Japan by volume. That translates to 317,859 units, up from 257,841 units in 2007. By comparison, PlayStation 2 made up 3.9 percent of the market, PlayStation 3 controlled 8.1 percent, and Nintendo's platforms made up more than 45 percent of overall sales.
The platforms shake out similarly in terms of software sales, with the 360 coming in last place with 1.8 million units sold, or just 2.7 percent of overall volume sales. No Xbox 360 games made the list of the top 30 games in Japan in 2008. But then again, the only PlayStation 3 game to make the cut was Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, which charted at No. 11. The rest of the list belonged only to PSP, PS2, Wii and DS games.
Microsoft's partnership with Square-Enix and Bandai Namco to publish Xbox 360-exclusive RPGs in Japan last year doesn't appear to have made much of an impact, although Tales of Vesperia sold about 155,000 copies there and caused a temporary shortage of Xbox 360 consoles. Microsoft's Japan Square exclusives -- Last Remnant and Infinite Undiscovery -- also failed to significantly spur 360 sales, likely because they didn't have the words final, fantasy, dragon or age in their titles.
source
the 360 must not have enough RPG's.
