Microsoft is a pretty powerful company in both the tech and video game sector. The original Xbox came crashing out of the gate in a way that almost nobody expected. The console video game market was already cluttered with major player like Nintendo, Sony, and Sega, but Microsoft’s like black box still proved it had a lot to offer.
That being said there has always been one place where the Xbox, even after three console generations, has yet to ever find a solid install base -Japan. The country that essentially brought us the video game revolution thanks to console makers like Nintendo and Sega and groundbreaking game developers/publishers like Komani and Capcom has never connected with the Xbox brand.
This year Microsoft will be skipping the large Tokyo Game Show that takes place in September for unspecified reasons. While the company is staying hush on the reasons for skipping the trade show, we can speculate is has everything to do with the disappointing sales of the Xbox One in Japan. Microsoft has been struggling to capture the same magic it had with the Xbox 360 even here in the states, but a world away things are far worse.
After a lukewarm console launch in Japan (and that’s being generous) things have only gone downhill. Sales numbers have just been released that show Microsoft sold a grand total of 149 consoles across the entire country in the span of a single week. Compare that to the Sony Playstation 4 that pulled in 15,000 units and Nintendo’s Wii U that brought in 10,000 units in the same period.
With Microsoft having enough issues stateside trying to compete with Sony and an ever encroaching Nintendo, it makes sense that the company cut its losses in a market that it can’t win, let alone even compete with. After three consoles generations of being snubbed in Japan, Microsoft is wise to place its focus on the markets where it can compete and let go of the dream of making waves with Xbox in Japan.
Via: (Wired)
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