Microsoft Admits Japanese Xbox 360 Success Won't Come "Easily or Quickly"
- February 15, 2006 19:41 PM PST
- Email this!
Microsoft General Manager Takashi Sensui admits difficult course for Xbox 360 in Japanese market
The man who launched the Xbox 360 in Japan, newly promoted Xbox General Manager Takashi Sensui, is admitting that the Xbox 360 is facing a difficult course in the Japanese gaming market.
"We acknowledge that achieving success in Japan will not come easily or quickly for [the Xbox brand]," Sensui said in an official Microsoft statement today. "But we are confident that...we will earn more [Japanese] business moving forward."
This frank admission comes at a crucial time for the Xbox 360, which has enjoyed considerable success in North American and Europe but has failed to capture a sizeable Japanese gaming audience.
Most recently, Xbox Operations Chief Yoshihiro Maruyama expressed that "[The Xbox 360 Japanese launch] was a lot more difficult than we had imagined."
During the Xbox 360's Japanese launch, it was reported that the unit sold at a considerably slower rate than its predecessor, an unexpected development considering that the original Xbox sold well under expectations to begin with.
