Justin Buser
12-12-2005, 02:09 PM
Peter Moore has admitted that although the Xbox 360 games offering were less than stellar at the Japanese launch, Microsoft still believe that the console will exceed everyone's expectations in Japan. However, that depends on what your expectation are in the first place...
Peter Moore has reiterated Microsoft's conviction that Xbox 360 will exceed expectations in Japan, and has spoken in more detail about the importance of offering a "Core System" alternative outside the region - both in terms of price-sensitive regions at launch, and as the system matures throughout its life cycle.
Speaking to US website 1UP on the eve of the Japanese launch, which took place on Saturday, Moore said that the Core System - which retails for UKP 209.99 and consists of a bare bones Xbox 360 without a hard disk - was important going into countries like China, Russia, India, Poland, Hungary and Latvia. "Those are markets we're going in. We're going to globalise this industry, and price becomes a big issue."
"[W]e need to offer cascading price points in 2008, 2009, 2010, to bring in tens of millions of gamers each year. And the flexibility the Core System versus the Premium SKU gives, is that," he added.
In terms of the Japanese launch, Moore said that the "overall strategy" was the same in terms of branding and tagline while TV advertisements and "tactical marketing" would differ slightly.
Moore was robust in his defence of the global launch strategy, although he did effectively concede that the Japanese day-one line-up was less than ideal. When it was suggested that having big titles at the Japanese launch would have been important, he compared it to the PlayStation 2 - widely thought to have grown stronger following a weak launch period. When asked if the global launch was the right decision, however, he responded, "Absolutely. It's a marathon, not a sprint."
Link (http://www.planetxbox360.com/?view=article&article=649)
Peter Moore has reiterated Microsoft's conviction that Xbox 360 will exceed expectations in Japan, and has spoken in more detail about the importance of offering a "Core System" alternative outside the region - both in terms of price-sensitive regions at launch, and as the system matures throughout its life cycle.
Speaking to US website 1UP on the eve of the Japanese launch, which took place on Saturday, Moore said that the Core System - which retails for UKP 209.99 and consists of a bare bones Xbox 360 without a hard disk - was important going into countries like China, Russia, India, Poland, Hungary and Latvia. "Those are markets we're going in. We're going to globalise this industry, and price becomes a big issue."
"[W]e need to offer cascading price points in 2008, 2009, 2010, to bring in tens of millions of gamers each year. And the flexibility the Core System versus the Premium SKU gives, is that," he added.
In terms of the Japanese launch, Moore said that the "overall strategy" was the same in terms of branding and tagline while TV advertisements and "tactical marketing" would differ slightly.
Moore was robust in his defence of the global launch strategy, although he did effectively concede that the Japanese day-one line-up was less than ideal. When it was suggested that having big titles at the Japanese launch would have been important, he compared it to the PlayStation 2 - widely thought to have grown stronger following a weak launch period. When asked if the global launch was the right decision, however, he responded, "Absolutely. It's a marathon, not a sprint."
Link (http://www.planetxbox360.com/?view=article&article=649)