Der er ingen tvivl om at den originale Xbox ikke kan betegnes som en succes i Japan med under 500.000 solgte maskiner, men at næstegenerationskonsollen Xbox 360, allerede før sin lancering er en dødssejler, der var der nok ikke mange der havde regnet med.
Men sådan ligger landet ifølge Nobuyuki Kawamata fra Tokai Tokyo Research Center, der sagde:
"No one -- consumers or software makers -- has been talking about the Xbox 360 lately, although we only have a couple of days before the release. Given also the fact that basic functions of Xbox 360 are inferior to Sony's next-generation machine, and that there are not many newly-developed titles ready for the Japanese launch, Xbox 360 is not likely to become a must-buy console here in Japan."
Også Hirotoshi Murakami fra Mitsubishi UFJ Securities mener at Xbox 360 har problemer i Japan. Han sagde:
"We had previously thought that Xbox 360 could gain a major share of the Japanese market by taking some market share from front-runner Sony Computer. But we now think that such a prospect may not be realized, given the limited attractiveness of its titles and its lukewarm functions."
Det vigtigste kort på hånden, nemlig det japansk-udviklede Dead or Alive 4, er endnu engang blevet forsinket og er ikke på gaden i forbindelse med lanceringen af Xbox 360 i Japan. Dertil kommer forsinkelsen af 99 Nights, et spil som også forventes at vinde mange japanske spilleres hjerte. Dermed står Microsoft utvivlsomt svækket i Japan, da hverken FPS- eller bilspil er landets foretrukne genrer.
Microsoft selv mener at de japanske marked er en vigtig brik i det samlede puslespil. Yoshihiro Maruyama, Japans Xbox-præsident sagde forleden:
"Japan is a very important market for our global strategy, and launching our console ahead of rival platforms will give us a certain advantage. Unless we achieve meaningful success here, we cannot say we are a winner in the next-generation console battle."