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Deleted member 51691

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Deemphasis of Japan
A senior figure inside PlayStation headquarters in San Mateo, California, said the U.S. side was frustrated by the failure of the Japan marketing team to sell as many PlayStation 4 units as expected. The person asked not to be identified discussing internal matters.

As a result, Japan has been sidelined in planning the PlayStation 5's promotion, according to several PlayStation staff in Japan. Employees in Tokyo said they've been left awaiting instructions from California.

Japan-based developer support teams have been reduced by as much as a third from their peak, and the rolling contracts of a number of game creators at PlayStation's Japan Studio, one of the unit's oldest in-house software ateliers, haven't been renewed, former employees said. The U.S. office believes the PlayStation business doesn't need games that only do well in Japan, employees in the California headquarters said.
The PlayStation 5's two main online promotional events both took place at 5 a.m. in Tokyo -- making them more accessible to American and European fans -- and lacked Japanese translation for some parts. The company also decided to standardize its PS5 control scheme so that Japanese players would have to use X to confirm and O to cancel, like the rest of the world. That reverses a 26-year tradition in a country where circles signify positives and crosses mark negatives.

Local retailers said they haven't received many more first-batch PlayStation 5 units than they did of the PlayStation 3, which had a limited initial production run.

Microsoft smells opportunity, murmurs of acquisitions
But Microsoft, which is launching its next-generation consoles in Japan on Tuesday, the same day it does so in the rest of the world, sees an opportunity in the country's market. Microsoft didn't start selling the Xbox One in Japan until almost a year after the U.S., which contributed to its disappointing sales in the Asian country.

On top of that, there's evidence Microsoft is seeking to make acquisitions in the country, though it hasn't yet landed a deal with a big name there. Several Japan-based game developers, from small to big, said it had approached them about buying their businesses. They asked not to be identified as the talks were private, and declined to give details on how the discussions went.

When asked about potential purchases of Japanese companies, Jeremy Hinton, head of Xbox operations in Asia, said Microsoft is always open to discussions with creators that are a good fit. He said acquisitions are a possibility but there are no announcements to share at this time.
Sony's official response
Any suggestion that Sony is shifting its focus away from Japan is incorrect and doesn't reflect the company's strategy, spokeswoman Natsumi Atarashi said. She noted that the PlayStation 5 is launching first in Japan and said "our home market remains of utmost importance."

www.bloomberg.com

Microsoft Sets Sights on Sony’s Home Turf in Console Clash

In the battle of the next-generation gaming machines, two key players are moving in different directions.
 
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Patitoloco

Member
Oct 27, 2017
23,675
Not surprising, any of those two statements.

From Sony, the console space in general is getting smaller in Japan, so it's normal that they don't feel it's a primary objective (market-wise, of course).
From MS, Japanese games are still really valued in the west, so getting a big Japanese acquisition makes a lot of sense.

They're playing their cards smartly, and I wouldn't be surprised if Sony is looking into Japanese acquisitions as well.
 

Deleted member 15360

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Oct 27, 2017
3,477
Cross positing from the media create thread


While the article is quite true however The thing is this year , a huge restructuring happened and most of the leaders are leading from Europe. They have kinda globalised there structure so a high chance this changed from fiscal year
 

Deleted member 31092

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Nov 5, 2017
10,783
It was totally obvious by looking at sales and marketing in Japan but good to have "official" confirmation.
 

Maple

Member
Oct 27, 2017
11,730
Japan-based developer support teams have been reduced by as much as a third from their peak, and the rolling contracts of a number of game creators at PlayStation's Japan Studio, one of the unit's oldest in-house software ateliers, haven't been renewed, former employees said. The U.S. office believes the PlayStation business doesn't need games that only do well in Japan, employees in the California headquarters said.

This is so disappointing.
 

Deleted member 68874

Account closed at user request
Banned
May 10, 2020
10,441
It's nice to see Xbox is finally putting in a real effort to crack the Japanese market business again.

Dont know if what they'll do is ever enough, but Xcloud may change things.
 

Spork4000

Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
8,520
Not really shocking imo. Crazy long game if Xbox does become the place for Japanese games though.
 

Geode

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,457
Well hot-damn if MS starts building up Japanese support, I may switch later this gen.
 

DynamicSushy

Member
Sep 7, 2019
661
Not sure how well that will go for Microsoft but if a bunch of JRPGs came out for Series X, I'd consider buying one
 

dlauv

Prophet of Truth - One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 27, 2017
11,513
Japan is winding down as a console market but Japanese games are as popular as ever. Makes sense for both parties. I wonder how to gin up console support in Japan though - like in general; not just increasing margins one way or another.
 
More quotes from the article

Lelouch0612

Member
Oct 25, 2017
21,200
stealthyfrog I started to make the thread so you can use what I started to do for your OP :

Takashi Mochizuki from Bloomberg published an article that talked about various subjects including how Sony is shifting away in many ways from Japan:

Sony has placed more importance on the U.S. market after the PlayStation 4's disappointing performance in Japan, according to employees who asked not to be identified discussing internal matters.

A senior figure inside PlayStation headquarters in San Mateo, California, said the U.S. side was frustrated by the failure of the Japan marketing team to sell as many PlayStation 4 units as expected. The person asked not to be identified discussing internal matters.
As a result, Japan has been sidelined in planning the PlayStation 5's promotion, according to several PlayStation staff in Japan. Employees in Tokyo said they've been left awaiting instructions from California.

Japan-based developer support teams have been reduced by as much as a third from their peak, and the rolling contracts of a number of game creators at PlayStation's Japan Studio, one of the unit's oldest in-house software ateliers, haven't been renewed, former employees said. The U.S. office believes the PlayStation business doesn't need games that only do well in Japan, employees in the California headquarters said.

Communication with Japanese fans

The PlayStation 5's two main online promotional events both took place at 5 a.m. in Tokyo -- making them more accessible to American and European fans -- and lacked Japanese translation for some parts. The company also decided to standardize its PS5 control scheme so that Japanese players would have to use X to confirm and O to cancel, like the rest of the world. That reverses a 26-year tradition in a country where circles signify positives and crosses mark negatives.

PS5 hardware allocation

Local retailers said they haven't received many more first-batch PlayStation 5 units than they did of the PlayStation 3, which had a limited initial production run.

Analysts take and Sony's official stance

Any suggestion that Sony is shifting its focus away from Japan is incorrect and doesn't reflect the company's strategy, spokeswoman Natsumi Atarashi said. She noted that the PlayStation 5 is launching first in Japan and said "our home market remains of utmost importance."

"It's analyst consensus that PlayStation no longer sees the Japan market as important," Morningstar Research analyst Kazunori Ito said. "If you want to know their take on the Japanese market, you need to ask about it because otherwise Sony wouldn't talk about it."

"Sony's attention is drifting away and fans have started to notice that." said Hideki Yasuda, an analyst at Ace Research Institute in Tokyo

Prospects in Japan

Serkan Toto, a game consultant in Tokyo, said the PlayStation 5 should sell fewer units than its predecessor.

"Many PlayStation 4 owners in Japan would eventually move to the PlayStation 5, but that would largely depend on how strong the PlayStation team in Tokyo will be in pushing the needs of Japanese customers to the American headquarters," he said. "Considering the current power balance between the U.S. and Japan, I can't expect much, unfortunately."

More at the link, I recommend reading the article it touches on more interesting topics. It is good to keep in mind that this shift in strategy has not been detrimental so far for Sony as the PS5 is set up to do incredible numbers in the rest of the World.

www.bloomberg.com

Microsoft Sets Sights on Sony’s Home Turf in Console Clash

In the battle of the next-generation gaming machines, two key players are moving in different directions.
 

Deleted member 15360

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Oct 27, 2017
3,477
It was totally obvious by looking at sales and marketing in Japan but good to have "official" confirmation.


Official comment from PlayStation is on that article

Any suggestion that Sony is shifting its focus away from Japan is incorrect and doesn't reflect the company's strategy, spokeswoman Natsumi Atarashi said. She noted that the PlayStation 5 is launching first in Japan and said "our home market remains of utmost importance."
 

Xando

Member
Oct 28, 2017
27,314
As a result, Japan has been sidelined in planning the PlayStation 5's promotion, according to several PlayStation staff in Japan. Employees in Tokyo said they've been left awaiting instructions from California.

Japan-based developer support teams have been reduced by as much as a third from their peak, and the rolling contracts of a number of game creators at PlayStation's Japan Studio, one of the unit's oldest in-house software ateliers, haven't been renewed, former employees said. The U.S. office believes the PlayStation business doesn't need games that only do well in Japan, employees in the California headquarters said.
Sounds similar to europe.

They really fucked up bringing everything to the US
 

MeepMerp

Alt Account
Member
May 2, 2020
541
I don't know why Sony is sleeping on Japan so much. Japanese games are some of the best on the market and should be too ignore. Good on Microsoft for continuing to support them and take over.
 

ToadPacShakur

Prophet of Truth
Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,449
Xbox needs to get crazy aggressive in Japan especially with Xcloud switching over the Series X server blades. Also having two of the smallest consoles for this gen.. it's not gonna be easy, but if Sony is getting arrogant then Microsoft should make the most of the relationships they have with Sega, Konami, etc
 

Havel

Member
Oct 25, 2017
490
Everyone should have seen this coming when Sony moved PlayStation HQ to California.
 

Nanashrew

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
6,328
Feel like this supports the rumor we heard earlier from the blog that usually leaks Japan numbers. The rumor is that Sony has only sent about ~100k PS5 units to Japan, and for reference PS3 sold 80k in its first week.

Local retailers said they haven't received many more first-batch PlayStation 5 units than they did of the PlayStation 3, which had a limited initial production run.
 

so1337

Member
Oct 28, 2017
3,479
Why would you sideline one of your most important markets?

qt0vh.jpg


And then there was that O/X button debacle that just felt spiteful of the Japanese market. Very strange.
 

timerhyme

Member
Apr 19, 2018
449
I've switching from PS to Xbox this gen and I love me some jrpgs. Would love to see more coming to both consoles, and if Microsoft are wanting to take Japan more seriously we hopefully see that as a result
 

Dekim

Member
Oct 28, 2017
4,301
Not surprising. The home console market in Japan isn't what it used to be, and PlayStation bread and butter is home consoles.
 

PJV3

Member
Oct 25, 2017
25,676
London
Not sure i buy it to be honest, Japan is a difficult market for a home console and Japan studio is doing good work again and seem more productive since the PS3 era ended.
 

Risk Breaker

Member
Oct 25, 2017
882
I don't know, we saw Japanese Youtube get a look at PS5 earlier than anyone else and stuff? Doesn't seem any different from PS4 from the outside.

And I've heard the MS going for Japan story four times by now :P
 

asd202

Enlightened
Member
Oct 27, 2017
9,557
Sounds similar to europe.

They really fucked up bringing everything to the US

Which is funny considering that PS is not really relatively as strong there as one may think. Nintnedo is bigger in US and MS even with Xbone was not that far behind. PS4 won't come close to 360 for example as well.
 

FelipeMGM

#Skate4
Moderator
Oct 25, 2017
3,012
disappointing, but it's been clear that's the direction they are heading for awhile
 

Kanann

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
2,170
Should I laugh here or should be at Media create thread?

It's pretty written on the wall. No matter what they said.
 

FusionNY

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,704
This can only mean Xbox is about to aquire Japan Studio. Gravity Rush 3 exclusive to Xbox and game pass.
 

Uzupedro

Banned
May 16, 2020
12,234
Rio de Janeiro
(Genuine question)
If Japan isn't much enthusiastic with non--portable console market anymore, what could Sony do?
 
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Mpl90

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,215
Crossposting from the MC thread

A few comments on that article

1) Honestly, the most damning tidbit from the article about Sony reducing their efforts in Japan is the one about Japan Studio.And the one about several retailers receiving "not many more first-batch PS5 units than they did for PS3" kind of fits with what's been rumoured for a while (100k for the first-week shipment)
2) IIRC it's been already rumoured how MS was looking for acquisitions in Japan. Again though: very different situations for the vast majority of major companies vs Bethesda, especially how they're not private and their non-gaming interests. And don't forget that there's no deal if the other side doesn't want to sell :P
3) Hol up Yasuda, where you livin
 

Xando

Member
Oct 28, 2017
27,314
Which is funny considering that PS is not really relatively as strong there as one may think. Nintnedo is bigger in US and MS even with Xbone was not that far behind. PS4 won't come close to 360 for example as well.
I think they're taking EU and Japan a bit for granted. Atleast in europe it feels like they reduced their presence quite a bit compared to early PS4