Murphy Why Did the Xbox Fail in Japan?
Travis “L.D.” Murphy Why Did the Xbox Fail in Japan? The sixth console generation was an interesting time in the video game industry. Among other things, it marked the end of the bit wars, the rise of online gaming, and the fall of SEGA from the console market. But in SEGA’s place rose Microsoft with their own Xbox. While the behemoth of a console was unable to shake the PS2’s firm hold on the market, it still managed to edge out Nintendo’s GameCube with over 24 million units sold worldwide. [1] While this victory secured Microsoft’s place as a major player in the console gaming market in the west, the same couldn’t be said for Japan as, despite the company’s efforts, the Xbox barely managed to sell an estimated 450,000 units in the region throughout its lifespan. [2] In fact, on July 18th, 2004 it was reported that even the PlayStation 1, which had been out for almost a decade by that point, outsold the Xbox in Japan too. [3] It’s important to note that Microsoft faced an uphill battle from the very beginning. After all, Japanese companies had a very firm hold on the video game console market ever since the aftermath of the video game crash of 1983. Furthermore, Japan alone represented nearly a third of the market. [4]So, from the early days developing the system, the Xbox team kept Japan close in mind. Then Xbox Director of Third Party Relations, Kevin Bachus, recalled, “We were basically going to play in Sony, Sega and Nintendo's home stadium.
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