Kinect Sells Surprisingly Well in Japan

[Logan Westbrook]

Kinect Sells Surprisingly Well in Japan

Xbox 360 sales get a shot in the arm in Japan following the release of Microsoft's new motion controller.

Despite a seeming lack of interest in the device, Kinect has managed to find a larger than expected audience among Japanese gamers. Microsoft was able to sell around 26,000 units in the first two day of availability in Japan, seemingly flying in the face of those who thought it was off to a "rough start [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/105566-Anecdotal-Evidence-Suggests-Japan-Isnt-Buying-Kinect]."

26,000 might not sound like a lot, especially not compared to the million units sold [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/105318-One-Million-Kinects-Sold-in-Just-Ten-Days] in ten days in the US, but Microsoft has had great difficulty in finding a foothold for the Xbox 360 in Japan, so the results are encouraging. Kinect's launch also gave sales of the console itself a boost, with just over 7,000 Xbox 360s sold, a significant increase over last week's total of around 2,000.

In comparison, the Wii sold over 27,000 units , the PS3 sold over 29,000 and the top selling of the week, the PSP, sold more than 96,000. But however small it may be, this is still a victory for Microsoft. It could be that Kinect is the product that gets Japanese gamers really interested in the Xbox 360, and it will be interesting to see what effect this will have on sales of the console going forward.

Source: Kotaku [http://kotaku.com/5699369/there-are-26000-kinects-in-japanese-homes]










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[Josh123914]

well of course it sold surpisingly well, as long as it sold any in japan it would

 

[Delusibeta]

As I said elsewhere, I'm predicting the next generation of consoles will have motion controls as its focus instead of GRAPHIX.

 

[Something Amyss]

Oh Japan, is there a gimmick you won't latch onto?

well of course it sold surpisingly well, as long as it sold any in japan it would

You have a point. "In related news, the new Xbox 360 has sold incredibly, with three units in Japan."

As I said elsewhere, I'm predicting the next generation of consoles will have motion controls as its focus instead of GRAPHIX.

Shifting one crutch for another, eh?

It's unfortunate, but I think you're probably bang on.

 

[RatRace123]

It's still a gimmick, a gimmick with potential sure, but I doubt it'll ever be fully realized.

 

[Buizel91]

As I said elsewhere, I'm predicting the next generation of consoles will have motion controls as its focus instead of GRAPHIX.

I doubt it, Microsoft and Sony both know that they have split the people who purchase their consoles, to casual and hardcore, and they know the hardcore gamers like controllers.

They know their are many people who hate motion control, the sales will show that. so they will accommodate for both types of players, probably with hybrid games.

or just make 2 separate types of games like Microsoft has done with Kinect.

 

[tautologico]

So MS sold less Kinect units than Nintendo sold Wiis (a 5-year-old console) in the same period? Ok then.

(I get it, selling anything there is already more than expected, but still, it's funny).

 

[mad825]

It's still a gimmick, a gimmick with potential sure, but I doubt it'll ever be fully realized.

how is it a gimmick? I can fully understand it being a fad but a gimmick it is not. motion controllers allow a whole new array of different gameplay mechanics which has yet to be fully implemented and utilised

ot:

there is some sort of perversion going on here.....

 

[Buizel91]

So MS sold less Kinect units than Nintendo sold Wiis (a 5-year-old console) in the same period? Ok then.

(I get it, selling anything there is already more than expected, but still, it's funny).

Only 1000 more, which is not alot

 

[RatRace123]

how is it a gimmick? I can fully understand it being a fad but a gimmick it is not. motion controllers allow a whole new array of different gameplay mechanics which has yet to be fully implemented and utilised

I might've gotten the terms mixed up, I agree with you it does allow for a whole new spectrum of control and a seemingly infinite number of new possibilities, I just have worries that all of that potential will never be utilized when it's cheaper and probably more profitable to release shovelware.
It happened with the Wii for a long time, and I'd hate to see it happen here.

 

[SachielOne]

How the heck do the Japanese even have the room to set one of these things up?

 

[The Wykydtron]

Wasn't there an article a while back saying that Japan had the lowest 360 sales or something like that? So Microsoft are just trying to make themselves look good before realising that motion controls suck and should never darken the door of gaming ever again.
/hate filled rant

 

[Tom Phoenix]

That isn't a very large number even by Japanese market standards (even the Move sold twice as much). Plus, Kinect has no long-term prospects of selling in Japan due to reasons that were already mentioned before (such as disinterest and the general lack of space in Japanese homes).

Even if we count this as a "success", I doubt Microsoft is thrilled over these figures. And it's not going to get beter.

 

[tautologico]

So MS sold less Kinect units than Nintendo sold Wiis (a 5-year-old console) in the same period? Ok then.

(I get it, selling anything there is already more than expected, but still, it's funny).

Only 1000 more, which is not alot

Not a lot, of course. But when you consider it's "new gadget, heavily marketed" versus "5-year-old console", and the latter wins... well, I still think it's funny

 

[Mordereth]

Oh Japan, is there a gimmick you won't latch onto?

well of course it sold surpisingly well, as long as it sold any in japan it would

You have a point. "In related news, the new Xbox 360 has sold incredibly, with three units in Japan."

As I said elsewhere, I'm predicting the next generation of consoles will have motion controls as its focus instead of GRAPHIX.

Shifting one crutch for another, eh?

It's unfortunate, but I think you're probably bang on.

What would be wonderful is if they stopped fucking around with their and optimized size; more (interesting) content and less time spent on creating better graphics. I didn't like Oblivion's graphics that much better than Morrowind's, and with graphics mods Morrowind looks just dandy.

Death to marketing gimmicks!

 

[Something Amyss]

What would be wonderful is if they stopped fucking around with their and optimized size; more (interesting) content and less time spent on creating better graphics. I didn't like Oblivion's graphics that much better than Morrowind's, and with graphics mods Morrowind looks just dandy.

Death to marketing gimmicks!

Unfortunately, as long as the public rewards shiny objects, there will be more incentive for them to focus on such things.

I'd personally rather have more games with polish and depth, but as long as people will buy it, it doesn't matter what I want.

 

[Catalyst6]

I'm actually surprised at this. Not because of the culture, because of the amount of space needed to play Kinect. Really, I'm not just using the "hurr no one on earth has that much space"; think of the size of the normal home. When a home in the city the size of a normal American "house" can go for insane amounts of money, how many people have the room to play?...

 

[ComicsAreWeird]

If xbox360 had to succeed in japan, i guess kinect is the most obvious way to do so. Japanese love stuff like DDR and Kinect already has a pretty impressive game in the same category.