Microsoft is Bombing Hard in Japan With the Xbox One
Microsoft has always struggled to establish itself in the Japanese market with the Xbox. The original console made very little impact in the country despite endless meetings and a large marketing budget while the Xbox 360 had some success but was dwarfed by the runaway sales of the PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii.
Unfortunately for the company, it seems as if the Xbox One is suffering a similar fate. While Microsoft were probably expecting sales to be pretty slow in the region for their latest console, they most likely didn’t think it would be as bad as has been reported in the past few days. According to figures seen by Kotaku, the Xbox One sold just 100 units during the week of June 8 to June 14. That’s a new record low for the Xbox franchise in Japan.
The slump can’t simply be put down to falling sales for all hardware either. The new Nintendo 3DS LL sold almost 20,000 copies, while the Wii U and PlayStation 4 sold 16,000 and 10,000 units respectively over the same period. Even the PlayStation 3 and Vita TV vastly outsold the Xbox One. After more than a decade spent trying to bed in with the Japanese people, it may be time for Microsoft to simply call it a day and concentrate on other markets.