Pre-order Xbox 360 Units Sold Out in Korea

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theNoid

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Pre-order Xbox 360 Units Sold Out in Korea

http://www.xbox360asia.com/archives/2006/02/25/pre-order-xbox-360-sold-out-in-korea/

The first batch of pre-order Xbox 360 was sold out in the first 9 hours after the official 360 launch in Korea. Microsoft is very optimistic about the sales of Xbox 360 in Korea even though there was not enough buzz in Japan.

Microsoft Korea explained that the prices of Xbox 360 in Korea were compet1t1ve compared to any other place in Asia.

* Xbox 360 Premium package is 419 000 Won (US$434, S$704)
* Xbox 360 Core package is 339 000 Won (US$351, S$570)

However when we check out the price of the premium package which will be on sale in Singapore on 16th March 2006, Singapore is selling for S$660 as compared with S$704 in Korea, US$27 cheaper.

Prices aside.

The general manager of Microsoft Entertainment & Devices Division in Asia Pacific and Greater China Region, Alan Bowman, has expressed they have learnt a few lessons from the Japan 360 launch. Microsoft’s strategy is to make more Xbox 360 games in Korean and have Korean game developers to localize the games.

Phantagram, developer of the game Kingdom Under Fire, is one such Korean developer that is going global rather than just catering to the local Korean market.

The insane popularity of Internet gaming in Korea may help driven Xbox 360 sales if Xbox fans and gamers were connected via Xbox Live to play their favorite games and score plenty of acheivements.

Seems it is a pretty rosy picture for Korean Xbox 360 market.

korea03.jpg


korea02.jpg
 
Not a big surprise to me. US games can do really well in Korea. Their general taste in games is closer to ours than the Japanese.
 
Very true, plus Japanese gamers are very stubborn about what they buy. Typically they will only support Japanese made products... reguardless of titles. I think so long as Korean developors (and OH LORD are there a lot of Good ones) jump onboard with the 360, it will be a MAJOR success in Korea.
 
Bah I just jump on a ferry head to fukoaka and pick up a xbox there. Most xbox360 got their way here that way. Plus Xbox360 is cheaper in Japan.
 
Wrench00 said:
Bah I just jump on a ferry head to fukoaka and pick up a xbox there. Most xbox360 got their way here that way. Plus Xbox360 is cheaper in Japan.
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As a selling point lol. It will pickup more sales once Ninety-Nine Nights and Blue Dragon release.. for sure.
 
There are a few MMOs planned for the 360 and a few RTS already. But in general I think those Koreans are ready for next gen and willing to test outside of the comfort zone :p
 
I agree as this makes me happy as well. As a Korean American, it's always nice to see that the people back there have the same tastes we have here. Just look at the smiles on the faces of those people! Anything that helps turn the pressure up on Sony is a good thing as competition will force innovation in the industry. I also have personal interest in the success of the Xbox360, as the more people buy it, the more likely we will see even better and better games being developed. This is important because after the announcement of an add-on HD-DVD drive being developed for the X360, I have no plans to purchase any more consoles other than the Nintendo Revolution which has become a must buy for me(due to it's backward compatibility to the classic games).
 
I believe this also has to do with an almost Korean mandate to "pwned" American gamers in any tournaments or ladders. Damn their #1 spots in StarCraft, Guilty Gear, Guild Wars, etc.
 
chojin_1999 said:
I believe this also has to do with an almost Korean mandate to "pwned" American gamers in any tournaments or ladders. Damn their #1 spots in StarCraft, Guilty Gear, Guild Wars, etc.
Click to expand...

Don't forget their CS teams are slowly climbing up the ladders. Ranked 4th in the world last time I checked :)
 
chojin_1999 said:
I believe this also has to do with an almost Korean mandate to "pwned" American gamers in any tournaments or ladders. Damn their #1 spots in StarCraft, Guilty Gear, Guild Wars, etc.
Click to expand...

If Korea decides they want to do something well....they do it the best. Just look at Olympic Short Track speed skating.
 
As a Korean American as well, with some Korean relatives and mother...

Older Koreans especially when I went to Seoul still have a disgust for the Japanese, and they try to pass this trait onto their children.

So probablly lack of all things Japanese except in the last 8 - 10 years, and the abudance of broadband internet connection and PCs. I would still say PC gamers in Korea outnumber all console gamers combined. But it is obvious as with the original Xbox launch that Koreans will support non-Japanese made game consoles. Heck even the orginal Xbox sold as much as the PS2 in Korea, and that is probablly the only market in the world.
 
UltimaParadox said:
As a Korean American as well, with some Korean relatives and mother...

Older Koreans especially when I went to Seoul still have a disgust for the Japanese, and they try to pass this trait onto their children.

So probablly lack of all things Japanese except in the last 8 - 10 years, and the abudance of broadband internet connection and PCs. I would still say PC gamers in Korea outnumber all console gamers combined. But it is obvious as with the original Xbox launch that Koreans will support non-Japanese made game consoles. Heck even the orginal Xbox sold as much as the PS2 in Korea, and that is probablly the only market in the world.
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Very true, heh. And also because MS is forcing even more cash into Live! on the 360, it has got to sound a lot better to the online country that Korea is.
 
Korean <-----------

The stuff about Koreans not really liking Japanease and visa versa is true, my Japanease mother in law still doesn't like me :p

Good for Korea, I'd bet their LIVE service is incredible, since they have the best wireless networking around.
 
Koreans also have a bad image of America but I like the way they handle it. They take it online and win matches to prove a point. Hell, they'll probably take over the world when in the future all wars are decided by gaming tournaments.

p.s. Chinese movies are so passe' now. Korean movies are where it's at.
 
chojin_1999 said:
Koreans also has a bad image of America
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The Korean massacre of 1980 is why we still have a bad image with Americans, which basically force the issue of democracy. Either way its not a huge ordeal, and Koreans know they can not/ or do not wish to exist without the support of the United States.
 
Naldo said:
is this happening in good korea or bad korea?
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South Korea of course. We would not be shiping Xbox 360s to North Korea, or anything at all for that matter.
 
Yep, it certainly does! And we all know the Japanese don't shun the X360 cause it's American (theNoid) but because it doesn't have games that interest them! Intense nationalism has very little to do with it.

That said, it's finally nice to see Microsoft selling SOMETHING in an eastern market :p
May they have more success in Korea, where they like those types of games, where they won't in Japan. :)
 
Actually, I think the reason is related to the long-standing lack of Japanese goods in Korea. I forget exactly how it all worked (who was embargoing who, etc), but I know that for a long time (and still today? I dunno) Koreans simply could not legally acquire Japanese goods. That's why PC gaming is so prolific over there: because they could never get game consoles, all of which came from Japan. So if this restriction is still in effect, it would make total sense because the xbox is an american product.
 
No its because the government protects the major companies in Korea..

Samsung and LG have a oligopoly in Korea, they can't compete effectively in the real world. They have manipulated the government into sticking such outrages tarifs and duties anything thats not Korean or even remotly competing with the two said companies. Korea just plainly blows when it comes to technology.

I can't even get TCCD samsung memory here.
 
Wrench00 said:
No its because the government protects the major companies in Korea..

Samsung and LG have a oligopoly in Korea, they can't compete effectively in the real world. They have manipulated the government into sticking such outrages tarifs and duties anything thats not Korean or even remotly competing with the two said companies. Korea just plainly blows when it comes to technology.

I can't even get TCCD samsung memory here.
Click to expand...

Ok so, was I correct about the inability to get Japanese products (because of government protection of said companies)? I was certain I read that somewhere. If not please fill me in, I think it's interesting.
 
They have manipulated the government into sticking such outrages tarifs and duties anything thats not Korean or even remotly competing with the two said companies.
Click to expand...

Then wouldn't the same be true of US equipment such as the Xbox?
 
Wrench00 said:
No its because the government protects the major companies in Korea..

Samsung and LG have a oligopoly in Korea, they can't compete effectively in the real world. They have manipulated the government into sticking such outrages tarifs and duties anything thats not Korean or even remotly competing with the two said companies. Korea just plainly blows when it comes to technology.

I can't even get TCCD samsung memory here.
Click to expand...

How in the hell did you come to the conclusion that Samsung can't compete effectively in the real world? They are what, the 2nd biggest electronics company in the world right? In fact, it was only a year or so ago that they passed up some key competitors like Toshiba.
 
The only reason they passed Toshiba is because they are protected in Korea. Because of tarifs they can raise their prices on their own goods to match the tarifed goods, and more often then not their products are more expensive. Samsung doesn't make a huge profit in the rest of the world so it makes up for that by ripping it own people off. Samsung employes slave labour tactics on the Korean people, they can demends lots of hours of work and low pay comparing to North America. Although Korean efficiency is like Japanese when it comes to labour. Efficiency is horrible work, what takes an average North American it takes a Korean 30%-40% more time plus three times the engineers.Huge chunk of this countries GDP is Samsung, if you remember the Asian economic crisis its because Samsung was fluffed on the stock market (Not to mention LG, Hyundai).

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes down to Korean economic practices. This is why both Korean and Japanese economies are only marginally increasing their own GDP. Where is China doubles and sometimes triples them.

This is just my observation I'm a weagukin and I propably offended some gyopo on this board. I appologize for hurt feeling but I have lived in a country long enough to get the girth of Korean society.

They don't target just Japanese goods they target all goods.
 
steviep said:
Yep, it certainly does! And we all know the Japanese don't shun the X360 cause it's American (theNoid) but because it doesn't have games that interest them! Intense nationalism has very little to do with it.

That said, it's finally nice to see Microsoft selling SOMETHING in an eastern market :p
May they have more success in Korea, where they like those types of games, where they won't in Japan. :)
Click to expand...

:p

I'm not saying all Japanese gamers are a bit nationalists.. and most probably don't see games that interest them.. but in general most Japanese aren't big fans of anything non Japanese especially American. Once better Japanese titles release over there we will get a better idea of how things will go ...

I agree though it is good too see some MS success in the east.

As far as Korean sales numbers ? Not sure, I know its sort of low, but this was only the pre-orders. More will continue to ship there as well as Mexico which just sold out nationwide.
 
theNoid said:
:p

I'm not saying all Japanese gamers are a bit nationalists.. and most probably don't see games that interest them.. but in general most Japanese aren't big fans of anything non Japanese especially American. Once better Japanese titles release over there we will get a better idea of how things will go ...

I agree though it is good too see some MS success in the east.

As far as Korean sales numbers ? Not sure, I know its sort of low, but this was only the pre-orders. More will continue to ship there as well as Mexico which just sold out nationwide.
Click to expand...

Wait... why is the Ipod so successful there? :p
And they can afford these things on slave wages in Mexico? I should go work :D
 
steviep said:
Wait... why is the Ipod so successful there? :p
And they can afford these things on slave wages in Mexico? I should go work :D
Click to expand...

Because Japanese companies seem to have a hard time making an mp3 player that doesn't suck. Sony can't seem to do it right at all.

It's already been proven that the Japanese gamers are more concerned with hype than they are with actual software. Need we go back to the PS2 launch yet again?
 
K600 said:
Because Japanese companies seem to have a hard time making an mp3 player that doesn't suck. Sony can't seem to do it right at all.

It's already been proven that the Japanese gamers are more concerned with hype than they are with actual software. Need we go back to the PS2 launch yet again?
Click to expand...

Cheap DVD players are nice. Nationalism in Japan isn't as rampant as you'd think.
But, as you can see even through these PR photos, Koreans like more Western-styled games, therefore the Western-styled library of the X360 is better suited to them then it would be the Japanese, which have very very little to be interested in at this point.
 
steviep said:
Wait... why is the Ipod so successful there? :p
And they can afford these things on slave wages in Mexico? I should go work :D
Click to expand...

Ok, I stand partly corrected ;)
 
FYI: Mexico is a two-class system with a huge economic gap between the two classes. The upper class in Mexico can easily afford Xbox 360's.

"The More You Know" *stars trailing*
 
Their own market in Korea is just one part of the world. Samsung is a multinational company and would have to be doing something right in order to stay competitive in the world market. Samsung is company that is competitive in the world market because they produce goods that are competitive. They are a company that has gone from reverse engineering the name brands, to being the name brand that others are now reverse engineering. My 17 inch computer monitor was made in China, and my Samsung HDTV was made in Mexico. I do agree with you about your other points though, because these countries don't play fair with the rest of the world. I used to never buy Samsung products, and now buy Samsung whenever I can because of the value you get. It's nice when a product has more features, performs as good or better, is just as or more reliable, and costs less.


Wrench00 said:
The only reason they passed Toshiba is because they are protected in Korea. Because of tarifs they can raise their prices on their own goods to match the tarifed goods, and more often then not their products are more expensive. Samsung doesn't make a huge profit in the rest of the world so it makes up for that by ripping it own people off. Samsung employes slave labour tactics on the Korean people, they can demends lots of hours of work and low pay comparing to North America. Although Korean efficiency is like Japanese when it comes to labour. Efficiency is horrible work, what takes an average North American it takes a Korean 30%-40% more time plus three times the engineers.Huge chunk of this countries GDP is Samsung, if you remember the Asian economic crisis its because Samsung was fluffed on the stock market (Not to mention LG, Hyundai).

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes down to Korean economic practices. This is why both Korean and Japanese economies are only marginally increasing their own GDP. Where is China doubles and sometimes triples them.

This is just my observation I'm a weagukin and I propably offended some gyopo on this board. I appologize for hurt feeling but I have lived in a country long enough to get the girth of Korean society.

They don't target just Japanese goods they target all goods.
Click to expand...
 
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