Since 2005, the Xbox 360 has sold more than 1.5 million units in Japan.
While that may sound like a nice total, it isn’t.
Photo: Attack of the Fanboy
According to Industry Gamers, the Xbox 360 is being “phased out” by many Japanese retailers, after sales went down 47% this year.
Geo, for example, which is one of Japan’s largest specialist retailers, is drastically scaling back its Xbox 360 business. Worse yet, electronics retailer Yamada Denki in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, confirmed that the company is removing 360 hardware and software from the majority of its stores nationwide, and the plan is to move whatever’s left at a heavy discount.
Attack of the Fanboy adds that the 2005-2010 time span found lackluster sales totals for Microsoft, while 2011 has been even worse, with little to no “Kinect Effect” helping the console in the country, sales have been down drastically, and its forcing retailers to re-analyze their shelf space.
Is this truly the beginning of the end for the Xbox 360? Is it already obsolete? Kinect apparently was a failure, so is there any hope for the console? Important things to think about if you’re interested in the video game business, which will find a new Nintendo console being released sometime in the not-too-distant future.
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Xbox 360 is gonna be the best gaming system for years!
Well, there were several promising games for the 360 at E3. Also, why buy a second xbox when you already have one?
And, I kinda felt like the PS3 was more popular in Japan?? :/
:U Personally, I’m glad they don’t like it. I like to stick to traditional Nintendo.
Yeah, PS3 is supposed to be the most popular in Japan, I think. Still, it’s something if the 360 is slipping so strongly in sales/popularity…maybe it’s just time to phase it out…it’s not as if Nintendo is standing idly by with Wii sales declining. Maybe that’s just what happens in this fickle industry…