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Sep 14, 2005, 9:44 PM
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Xbox 360 Still lagging behind PS3 in japan despite efforts
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Microsoft are making huge efforts to win Japanese gamers with its new Xbox 360 game console, but analysts say it will be lucky if it can put a dent in Sony Corp's PlayStation following. The lack of success in Japan with the first Xbox was due to lack of compelling games for Japanese, not relations with retailers or even the bulky design of the first Xbox.
"Ultimately if we had great games, people would have put a big, black Xbox in the living room," he said. This time, he says, Microsoft has laid the groundwork for just that.
Analysts expect the Xbox 360 to sell better than its previous version, but they don't expect it to seriously challenge Sony's dominance of the gaming market in Japan.
"There is no way it will come close to the PlayStation," said Tokyo-based Deutsche Securities analyst Takashi Oya. "Microsoft will have done well if it gets 10 percent market share in Japan."
U.S.-based research firm IDC estimates that Microsoft will sell 3.5 million Xbox 360 units in Japan by 2009, compared with 8 million PlayStation 3 units.
Microsoft readily admits that it made some mistakes in Japan with its first launch in February 2002, two years after Sony launched PlayStation 2 and cemented its grip on the market. Microsoft plans to launch Xbox 360 in the United States, Japan and Europe ahead of the year-end holiday season and, more importantly, ahead of Sony's PlayStation 3 launch next spring.
Not everyone is as optimistic, but some say it may be enough for now that Japanese gamers are curious about Xbox 360. It will be "a job well done" if Microsoft can get equal market share with Nintendo in the next-generation battle, said KBC Securities analyst Hiroshi Kamide. "It's not going to be possible to be number one," he said.
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