Microsoft's Xbox consoles have never done well in Japan, and 2008 was no exception. IGN 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.
A brutal reset, a smarter story, and a return to what made it great—Mortal Kombat (2011) revived the series.
Underrated comment. I used to hate that game so much that any time my siblings asked me to play it, I just picked Hom and shut myself down mid-match.
15 years went by so fast. I remember playing through the story mode at launch.
The name "Hewson" carries a special weight for anyone who grew up during the golden age of British computing. As the son of Andrew Hewson—the man behind legendary publisher Hewson Consultants—Rob Hewson didn't just grow up playing video games; he learned to spell his name from their title screens. However, Rob didn't just rest on his family's 8-bit laurels. From leading major LEGO franchises at TT Games to tackling the high-stakes world of technical porting at Huey Games, Rob has carved out a unique path in an ever-evolving industry. In this candid interview Rob to discussed the burden and beauty of a family legacy, the technical "scar tissue" left by the ambitious Hydrophobia, and why porting a masterpiece like Inscryption to consoles is far more than a simple copy-paste job.
To celebrate Tomb Raider: Legend's 20th anniversary, the official channels have shared an early in-development gameplay demo.
ROFL
Rot in your pathetic grave xbot Microslaves.The punishment for your sins will continue until 2016.
HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
its not going to magically turn around in 2009 either
Japanese don't get fooled so easily. And they are very traditional.
Speaking of all the market share in Japan...
Who actually cares? Japan is currently just a small part of the overall world market and it's even getting smaller. The same with the Japanese developers and their games' sales and quality.
The Japanese are smart people.