Xbox One's Poor Performance in Japan Prompts Region Boss to Step Down

Xbox One's Poor Performance in Japan Prompts Region Boss to Step Down

25
Richard Walker

Following poor sales of Xbox One in Japan, Takashi Sensui, Xbox Japan head has stepped down and resigned, as Japanese mag Famitsu reports. He won't be leaving Microsoft, however. Instead he'll be making a move to the firm's headquarters in Redmond, Washington.

Sensui assumed the role as head of Xbox Japan back in 2006, and will now be working as General Manager for Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. He'll be working under Xbox VP Mike Nichols and continue to support Xbox Japan as part of what Microsoft is calling a reorganisation.

Xbox One has performed dismally in Japan since its launch in the country in September, shifting a paltry 1300 units in its third week. In the few months the console has been on sale in Japan, its sold only 38,461 units, performing markedly worse than Xbox 360 and the original Xbox.

23,652 Xbox Ones were sold in the first four days, which is less than half the number that Xbox 360 sold in 2005. Last week, 776 Xbox One consoles were sold in Japan. Oh, dear.

[Via Kotaku]

Comments
25
  • ¯_(ツ)_/¯
  • I understand the reasoning why MS won't abandon Japan entirely--you can't sacrifice a continent to your competition, you need to innovate instead of running away, and they believe the can turn this around. But these figures are downright embarrassing and far more damaging to their reputation than sacrificing Japan to Sony would be. A company with shallower pockets would leave the land of the rising sun and refocus those resources on China, which is where the next gaming boom will be.
  • ¯_(ツ)_/¯
  • Didn't MS fail at marketing the X1 in Japan? If that's the case, major lesson learned.
  • They need to bring on more visual novels for the X1 so the Japanese people will get interested in the console ;)
  • @2- Japan isn't a continent.
  • @5 What Microsoft need is to fund a studio who translates exclusive Japanese games like PsychoPass and Chaos; Head so they can be sold worldwide on Xbox Store. Obviously they can say we will only do this if will stay exclusive for at least a year but its a win win really. I get PsychoPass and Japanese devs have a larger selling field.
  • They will never crack Japan. Japanese gamers are moving more towards mobile phone gaming these days and console sales across the board are falling. If I was Microsoft I would focus more on new markets like China.
  • Yeah, I'd abandon Japan as consoles are dead there. Not worth it. Focus on China and India.
  • Have itagaki make a proper ninja Gaiden 3 exclusive to x1 and also a baseball game.
  • "Seppuku unlocked!", .. this achievement is worth 776. Thanks for playing :/.
  • Like everyone else has stated, China is the next boom. The only part about it I don't like is the censorship from the government. Companies will not say or do anything against China for fear of the government threatening to ban the company. Look at BF4. China told EA that if any other game ever comes out where Chinese soldiers die, they will ban EA games. Now it will be back to just Murica v Russia, which has gotten very boring.
  • It's not just the X1, Consoles haven't been doing too well in Japan all together.
  • They tend to like kiddie stuff over there like Pokémon. I picture xbox as more of a mature gaming system. Let them stick to Nintendo.
  • Expected really. China should be the focus, and push it hard.
  • #2 you forget that the PS4 didn't sell that much more in Japan.... they sell vitas but not consoles....japan is all about handheld...
  • I think Microsofts forget. Japan is the birth place of nintendo and playstation. You can't just walk in with a new console and expect them to lap it up.
  • Who cares about a bunch of Xenophobic one dimensional "gamers" who wont give a game a chance unless its a JRPG that has a gender confused whiney protagonist, an equally gender confused antagonist who's overconfidence conveniently allows the protagonist to escape over and over again, and absolutely 0 critical decisions or customization throughout the entire games short duration.
  • @18 That's quite a xenophobic one dimensional comment to say about other cultures, don't you think?
  • #17 USA is the "birthplace" of the Xbox, but still sony outsold it there...so what is your point exactly?
  • Give them Shenmue 3 and all is solved
  • Story is about a guy that that gets paid a around million a year and sells 40000 consoles in Japan and then is taken to the head office in the USA to work. Its a happy story.
  • I'll tell you what would help Xbox One sales in Japan: A "Hello Kitty Edition!" Sega Dreamcast was considered a failed console... but the "Hello Kitty" version was hugely popular in Japan. Even though there aren't any Hello Kitty-themed games for Xbox One (at least not in the U.S.), a console with that finish would be very popular in Japan. I don't know if MS would experiment with that. A Shenmue-themed console (with a copy of Shenmue 3) would sell Xbox One consoles there, too! Exclusive consoles will get them into their homes. All they have to do then, is get games they want to play on them (RPG, mech-games... to start)!!!
  • I was just waiting for the racist "Japanese gamers are racist because they only buy Japanese products"-remarks, but (except for #18, who was quickly called out for his BS by #19), this forum was remarkably free of that nonsense! Kudos to you, xboxachievements-forum!!
  • Everyone look at these stats. Especially 24. http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/thread.php?id=194031
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