Real Gamers in Japan Special - An XBot is Born?!

This series aims to provide a tiny bit of insight into the mind and habits of Japanese gamers. Although I'm sure most will be pretty dry, I hope to occasionally surprise some of you.

In this special, I'm talking with a friend of mine, Masahiro. He's in his mid-twenties and has a job doing phone customer service.

Me: What's new?
Masahiro: I just broke up with my girlfriend.
Me: Ah shit, what happened?
Masahiro: We had seven dates. But, finally I realised she was just using me for my money.
Me: Yeah?
Masahiro: She would sometimes pretend to take out her purse but she never offered to pay for anything.
Me: Ah, did you at least get some return on your investment?
Masahiro: Just some hand holding.
Me: Shit mate, you did the right thing.
Masahiro: I was even selling games to pay for the dates.
Me: Seriously? What games did you sell?
Masahiro: Wii Ski. Uses the balance board.
Me: OK...
Masahiro: Wii Music..
Me: Ah, Wii Music sux anyway.
Masahiro: Also Endless Ocean. That thing wasn't even a real game anyway. Also, some others, I forget.
Me: Oh well.
Masahiro: I'm thinking of getting rid of my Wii anyway.
Me: Really?
Masahiro: I'm dying to play Street Fighter 4 and Biohazard 5 so I'll probably get a 360.
Me: Yeah, well I'm sure you'd be much happier with a 360 or even a PS3. So you're not considering a PS3?
Masahiro: Well, the 360 is a bit cheaper.
Me: Cool, well, anytime you want to borrow games let me know.
Masahiro: Yeah, I will!
Me: So, funny that you're considering a 360. I get the feeling that most Japanese gamers aren't interested in the 360.
Masahiro: Hard to say... well for me it's just about playing the games I want to play. It's a shame, I've always liked Nintendo in the past.


My Thoughts
I feel sorry about my mate Masahiro getting his wallet pillaged by yet another chick. But really, his problem is that he always goes for girls a lot younger than him so they tend to be not so interested in a serious relationship.

It didn't come out in the above conversation but I'm sure one of the reasons Masahiro decided on a 360 over a PS3 is because he's had a chance to play a bunch of the games at my place. Especially the XBLA stuff has captured his interest. He hadn't played a twin stick shooter before but was playing Geometry Wars like a demon on only his second go. Also, Castle Crashers was an absolute winner, we spent more than 4 hours on that, playing multiplayer with another friend.


Xbox 360 - Not Dead in Japan. Yet...

Note: Although written in an interview style, the above is actually an extract of a conversation I had, either translated from Japanese, or modified from the original English to read more naturally. Names are changed to protect the identity of those concerned.

BTW, "An XBot" is a term used to refer to fans of the XBox, usually used in a derogative way. If you search for XBot in Google you can find funny quotes like this:

Quote:

While the status of being a ‘Halo Killer’ certainly isn’t an impressive accomplishment, we’re here to tell you that KILLZONE 2 not only destroys the HALO series in every single regard, but it will also make xbots question the very foundation of their pathetic existence.