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Japan, does the big M need it?
In Gamasutra's latest "Analyze This" column, Howard Wen asks industry analysts a question that's been popping up a lot lately, "Does Microsoft really need Japan?" or, more specifically:"So how important should the Japanese market be in [Microsoft's] overall strategy for the 360? What do you think Microsoft specifically did wrong in Japan? Can they fix things before (or during) the arrivals of the Wii and PS3?"Wen also asked whether or not Microsoft needs Japanese games to entice North American's and Europeans who grew up on Japanese consoles.One of the best responses comes from analyst Ben Bajarin of Creative Strategies:"I am not sure Microsoft did anything horribly wrong with Japan. The problem they face is that this is a market dominated by Sony, who employs many people in that country and are loyal to those products. If Microsoft has done anything wrong that needs to be fixed, it is a lack of understanding of the Japanese market."The article contains responses from several analysts and is worth a read. So, do you think Microsoft needs Japan to succeed in the world market? Are a few titles like Bullet Witch or Blue Dragon (or this one) enough?
