Eurogamer has just published a comprehensive report that seeks to explain why the original Xbox was such a bust in Japan. And, as is often the case, it all goes back to first impressions.
At the 2001 Tokyo Game Show, Microsoft founder and chairman was on hand to personally introduce an American console to the Japanese audience. His appearance was meant to show how much Gates and his company loved and respected games from the East.
All was fine at first, as Gates addressed the Japanese game industry, which included paying respect to Isao Okawa, the former president of Sega who had just lost a battle with cancer. He then explained that Sega would be producing the next installments of various franchises on his new machine, and from there he went into full on sales pitch mode. And it was all downhill from there.
Many in the audience were totally turned off, including developers and publishers. As John Greiner, former president of Hudson Entertainment, who has worked in Japan for a number of years, and therefore understands how things operate over there:
"They had a speech they vetted, and then when he gave the speech it wasn't the same speech. There were parts that were different. He was supposed to be talking about the industry but he was really just plugging the Xbox. Of course! That's America.
That was a big deal, and people were pissed. The whole Xbox introduction into the Japanese market was not done correctly. They lost the faith of the people who they really needed."
The piece also details the other challenges that Microsoft faced when attempting to carve a name for itself in Japan, alongside such stiff competition as Nintendo and Sony.
Another major issue was how the Xbox emphasized its ties to PC gaming, which is virtually non-existent in the East. Kevin Bachus, former director of third-party relations at Xbox, explains:
"So even before we lifted a finger there was a perception among game companies and consumers that this was a console made for other countries, and even though it might be available in Japan it really wasn't for them."
Even feedback when it came to the look of the console was befuddling. According to Ed Fries, then vice president of Microsoft Game Studios and co-creator of the system:
"We were told we couldn't call it the Xbox because X is the letter of death… We were told we couldn't make it black because black is the colour of death. I was like, isn't the PlayStation black? Rules that apply to you as an outsider don't necessarily apply to insider products."
Though plenty of other mistakes that Microsoft is guilty of and which did them no favors, on top of what happened at TGS, are detailed at length.
