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Kinect's Out In Japan...Does Anyone Care?
By now, we all know that Microsoft has had a tough time cracking the Japanese market. Regardless of whether its a hardware, software, or cultural issue, Japan never seemed to take to the Xbox the same way it latched onto the PlayStation or any of Nintendo's offerings. The company's much-hyped Kinect device has been released in the country, and it doesn't appear to have made much of a dent, either.
Kotaku's Japan correspondent Brian Ashcraft posted his impressions on the Japan launch, and it's a stark difference between the reception it got in North America. It's obviously based on his observations and isn't meant to be a comprehensive analysis, but it's still a great read. It's funny (in a cringe-inducing kind of way) that it's almost impossible to avoid Kinect ads here in the U.S., but there are games retailers in Japan who apparently don't even know what Kinect is.
We're sure this is what a make-believe Microsoft executive would have to say about the situation: "We're really proud of the headway we've made in Japan, and we're certain that games like Kinectimals and Dance Central are really going to resonate with players over there. We've had some challenges over the years, but once players over there see what it's like to be Kinect-ed it's going to be huge. Also, Capcom, you've got to make a freaking Monster Hunter game for this thing. We're dying out here. Kinect!"
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