In this months article I will discuss how the has Xbox failed in Japan and made even the Dreamcast look good! It's no secret that the Xbox hasn't exactly been flying off shelves in Japan. Interest in the Microsoft console has sunken with each passing week since its release. Sales tracking firm Media Create reports that in the first week of April (4/1 - 4/7), Microsoft sold a shocking 2,179 units, a number that is astonishingly low for a newly released console system. But when you examine sales of some of the other consoles on the market. In the same week in April, Sony's seven-year old PS one platform sold 3,959 units and the Dreamcast console even managed to outsell the Xbox with 3,427 units purchased by Japanese gamers.
As for the other next-generation platforms, the PS2 sold 80,734 units and the Game Cube 15,068 units. Clearly, Japanese gamers are not taking well to the American made gaming console. Many analysts are calling for Microsoft to drop the Xbox price in Japan, but others say it's not the price, but the Xbox games that are simply not appealing to the market. Many Japanese feel the system is much to big, and with the fact that Japanese homes in cities like Tokyo are very small this can really be a big impact on buy the system. Then there is also the issue of faulty Xbox hardware in Japan.
Though Microsoft isn't commenting publicly, some storeowners in Japan have revealed that Microsoft is carefully replacing potential faulty Xbox units before they are sold to consumers. Well the Xbox meet the same fate of the Dreamcast, no one knows but if your looking for a new Dreamcast like system the Xbox is your best bet. Even the controllers take a page out from the Dreamcast with there large and comfortable handling. Not to mention Sega supporting the system with sequels to Dreamcast and Saturn games and games planned to be one the Dreamcast like Toe Jam and Earl being released on it. |
