the games for it totally suck.IMO.

n4g is being paid by microsoft IMO!
free speach for everybody ok this is 2007.

You won't buy a system because of a power brick? Cmon! give me a break!

The PS3 is IMO the most unsightly machine on the market but if it had the games that I want to play, I would most certainly pick one up.

Sure, presentation matters but to make a decision solely based off of the power brick? I guess the Japanese are more fickle than I!

It's not because the X360 LOOKS that it's performing in a mediocre way in Japan, it's because it's games lineup sucks (as per Japanese tastes).

For every RPG Microsoft gets, PS3 gets 15.

For every Robot/Samurai/Anime-themed game Xbox 360 gets, PS3 gets 100.

For every casual/pick-and-play game Xbox360 gets , Wii gets 150.

This article is boring. Who cares!? If this is true than the Japanese gamers are just being ridicules. I have my power brick mounted on the back of my Entertainment stand. All it took was an old childrens book shelf and some old screws and about 2 min. and BAMM my brick is chilling behind my 360 and my HD Projector.

Game on.

To FeralPheonix
Nice T.V, pitty about the console

the Xbox 720 the size of the Zune and change the name to something recognizable as a tiny dik (like Wii) and it'll sell billions over there.

Didn't they do any market research? They should know the Japanese don't like anything that belittles their 'manhood'.

What a stupid article as if the friggin power supply is going to stop someone buying it!

M$ is not a brand at all in Japan, Japanese dont much like western brands as it is, so it is always an uphill struggle to sell there, also considering Japanese gamers dont like the games we play generally either.

simple reason
it is all about trust and loyalty
xbox is a new brand - not to mention a western brand too

it would be sooo hard for any new console to try and go up againts consoles that have beeb around for how long???
nintendo and sony - are trusted brands - how many consoles have ppl all over the world got to try from nintendo
and how successfull was the ps1 and ps2

it would be hard for any new console to embraced by everyone everywhere, and I think xbox is doing ok for its second console out.

Well the Wii has an external power adapter so.... the power brick is not the problem. I think it's probably due to the idea that no Japanese player liked any games that Western devs did during the 90's and they still think the same way. They want good games and their memory is that western games are bunk. It'll be a very slow process to point out the fact that Western devs are making pretty compelling games now, but little by little they are warming up to the idea that some games from the West are good.

thy are too busy playing pokemon and dragon bal z, japanese people just have different taste in games, thats why they love the ds, i just think its weird, but thats my personal point of view

And they don’t like American products coming into Japan (see trade disputes during the Clinton administration) In fact they try and stop these products from coming in by charging its costumer additional fees. Not to mention Japanese companies lobby and fight really hard to keep American business out, they are a capitalist society that still harbors imperialistic views in there companies (one company to rule them all)

i've long given up hope of japanese buying 360 if they want one they know where to get it if they don't there are other altenatives. its also pointless to discuss why they dislke this or not

but MS is also to blame, one would think they learnet from they mistakes but guess not

People should look at this interesting post in the forums section on the website of were this article was posted on.

"Ok, so here is a sad story... and my opinions... this is more blog-ish like, but w/e.

I went into a gamestore the other day, because believe it or not I haven't yet played Gears of War. I know, I know, I should be shot right? Well considering mine is oh, 3000 miles away, and I have only ever met ONE PERSON in Japan who owns one, and never even met someone who knows Halo, it's resonalble that　Ｉ have not gotten the chance to play Gears yet. So, I figure theres got to be a demo around here somewhere. I've been checking all around game stores for at least 2 months looking for one. All the demos except for Lost Planet are lame, so not only do they not have Gears wherever I go, they don't have anything good to make up for it. So anyway I go to a gamestore I haven't checked yet, and they have a massive 360 demo both. Surround sound, Samson HDTV, 2 controllers and a clean, brand new 360...

and it was turned off.

Yes, turned off. The screen　black and the green light that　Ｉ had looked forward to meeting shed none of it's beautiful glow. I quickly investigated. I approached a store clerk (a very attractive one by the way, but then again, asians are just hot, exspecially the Japanese) and iquired as to why I couldn't game it up on my white box of joy. The answer was, since the PS3 demo booth arrived, corprate said that the combination of the two ate up too much power. They only turn the 360 on in the morning, and turn it off at around noon. That's only two hours. Two hours!

She said they even have a new rule to turn the lights off in the break room when not using it. They did it before periodically she said, but now they must turn the lights off. I was suprised, shocked, and still perplexed. Why would this game store even bother having a 360 unit in there. I asked if she could turn it on so I could play, and the answer was no. No way. Them's the rules, apparently. Honestly, the 360 has no chance in Japan people. Most people haven't even bothered touching the controller, let alone playing one.

Japanese gamers are a different species to Europeans, Australians, and North American. They don't rent their games here. Every store that has tried that here got nowhere, they don't want to rent games. They say they don't rent because its to bothersome to return a game that you want to keep playing, and since they prefer RPG's mostly, it's more wise to buy it rather than "borrow it for money" as they say.

They look at games and Judge them if differnet ways than us as well. Not to say all of us judge on graphics, but wahts the first thing we usually notice? How it looks.　Ｉｆ　it catches our eye, we then look at it deeper. Japanese gamers are the complete opposite. They will see a game and not even think about or mention the graphics at first (unless its absolutely jaw dropping of course), instead they inquire as to the story. Almost everytime a Japanese kid sees me playing a game they don't know, the immediately ask, "What's the story like? What's the main character like?" The they go on asking how long it is usually, or if the save system is good. Whereas we ("we" being non-Japanese gamers) will base it on looks at first usually, then see how the combat system, for instance, plays out, or how the controls are. I value story as much as the next buy, and while it's annoying, we all know games can get by with little or no story *ehem-Gears-ermf*. Gears has done well in Japan, yes, but you would be suprised at whose buying these 360's with Gears of War- Foreigners! In Tokyo you will see foreigners everywhere, it looks more like the US than Japan. A lot of these guys come to Japan because they are Otaku's (geeks) and wnat to hook up with Japanese school girls. Sterotypical, but, on a large scale it is very true. These guys love games, manga, and everything that goes along with that. They love Japanese games, but they pay closer attention to the Western game market than Japanese do. Of course many Japanese hardcore kids play Gears, but the foreigners are contributiing a lot to that picture.

What Microsoft needs is more Japanese people selling the Xbox 360 to Japanese people. Japanese don't want "Do! Do! Do!". Thats a very misinformed marketing phrase thought up buy misinformed American business men who thought that since Japanese love english stuff along those lines, they would take to something simples like this. No. Not true. They don't have to understand the phrase. If fact, it's better if they don't understand it. It should be funky, and something deep about life. "You have power, take!" Just something dumb like that. Put words like power, fantasy, dreams and things along those lines and if they can just pick out the few words they know, they will be like, "すげ！,"which means awesome. But American marketing can't do that, they need to localize themselves more to get anywhere.

Not only do they need more games, but more importantly they need more positive exposure in a Japanese fashion.

イアン　シャウッド"

http://forum.xboxic.com/sho...

It says they also don't like the size of the PS3!
It only makes sense though:
130 million people in a country the size of California

If I lived there I would want all my stuff to be small too!

Japanese is not as racist as you jason, they love western product, they buy LV like peanuts. They watch holywood movies like we do, they also listen western music.
And don't think that I hate americans, my bestfriend here is amercians. many americans live near my house. and many japanese, korean, chinese also lived around my house.

Are you buying 360s because it's american product? I don't buy things because of my country or any other country. I buy product because it's a good product.
if you don't like it, you don't buy it... that's it. there is nothing to do with nationality or races.

don't forget that ipod sell more in japan than US. why? there is only one reason... apple create a good product.

I bought 360 because it's interesting. if not why should I bother? I will buy wii because it's different, I bought PS3 because it has bluray. I get a PC because it just for work, get a macbookpro because it has a good software for my job.

I don't buy ipod, because i don't know where I can enjoy it.
you see, is not because I don't like the product... the culture in my country, we go anywhere by car. we don't have culture for public transportation. we don't have time to spent time with our ipod. at home I can listen MP3 anywhere.

are played out

wii is a flat gamecube, its easy to play and pick up, and its small, they can shove it in their book shelf if they wanted,

the japanese people who said they dont like big consoles must not be gamers if size is what matters and not games.

seriously, i think the 360 is fine, although why is the adapter so huge when the ps3 doesnt even have an adapter, and the ps3 doesn't overheat, i have NO IDEA lol

ps3 is huge, its heavy to move with one hand like i do often lol, but its nice, shiny, and looks like a cool printer lol. the 360....the color is ugly, i want the black color.

but yeah, 360 doesnt have enuff j-rpgs, so thats why also. *shrugs who cares.

i luv all games except easy pick up and play games like nintendo's games cuz IMO they get boring really fast and have no point to them, and aren't fun to play IMO. so western rpgs, shooters, jrpgs, fighting games, action games etc... ps3, 360 for me

Japanese do not like the 360 because of the high failure rate. Japanese are known for quality and the 360 is not a high quality console.

Here is mine

when the 65nm processor is being used, power requirements will go down so the power supply should shrink some. Maybe this will help.

I can guarantee you the brick has little to nothing to do with it.

it is always about games, if people see enough games they want on a console, they will buy it, period.

MS and SONY need to get many more games in japan before people will see the need to buy their consoles.

america and Europe are getting games of interest to them, and there are selling fairly well in those places.

LOL. What a load of crap. I think if people didnt like it because of some stupid power adaptor the sales would be a little higher because less people would care. Its the games they dont care about.

it's the powerbrick.....It doesnt have the type of games, that's it!

more like the Napoleon Complex, if you ask me!

japanese market is totally different to ours if you check out there games. shooters dont rock there boat, golf on the other hand virtual enviroments puzzle games do,ninetendo do a lot of simple graphical type games that make shed loads of money they know this market inside out and have done over years.sony doesn,t do as well but are getting there with the release of hunter freedom 2 on psp shifting almost 200000 units in a week.
sony also has little big planet golf5 gran turismo and others for them
there games always seem to be some what cartoon like with the exception of a few interesting reading is vg chartz where you will see the large numbers some of these games shift
xbox games like halo 2, gears of war etc don,t even get a mention

It's really a mixture of things, yes the power brick is part of the problem, the japanese like having smaller consoles ie "the Wii", but it's also the games and the fact that an Xbox 360 is prone to dying at least once a day.

they're hands are 2 small for the controller haha
nah seriously have a random question for anyone who cares to answer do japs use windows or do they have somethin else

I hate the way the Wii looks, not because it's small, I just dislike the design. But I wouldn't choose whether I 'hate' it or not in general over that alone.

i dont mind it!!!

microsoft=bad marketing

the games done appeal

its american

and no dont blam it on the power brick

What it really comes down to is everything from bad marketing/press to poor game selection, as well as previous experiences with the Xbox consoles. The first one suffered from a lot of bad publicity due to faulty hardware, so that obviously affected the popularity of both Xbox and Xbox 360.

seriously, they buy the dumbest sh*t. Check out the pic and you'll understand.

Hiroshima! I might lose a bubble for this but it is my honest opinion.

who cares what they think/do/whatever?

A power brick is a problem thats all they got. WEAK.

Quite true. It's not very innovative to have a brick - which was never given any thought in the design process next to the console.