Microsoft has never had phenomenal success with its video game consoles in Japan, but this time, the Xbox One is doing so bad that it has caused quite a stir in the company's executive department.
Eight-year head of Xbox Japan Takashi Sensui is stepping down from his post after a dismal Japanese launch of the Xbox One and Microsoft's failure to drum up sales for the console in the following months, despite the hearty numbers for Sony's PlayStation 4 and the Nintendo Wii.
The news was first reported by Japanese publication Famitsu, which says that Sensui will not actually be leaving Microsoft. Instead, the long-time executive who has been with Microsoft since 2002 will be flying to Redmond to become the company's general manager for its interactive entertainment business. Sensui will be reporting to Xbox vice president Mike Nichols.
According to Kotaku, Sensui will be replaced by former Sony executive Yoshinami Takahashi, now Microsoft's general manager for its consumer and partner group, and head of consumer and partner group retail Nobuyoshi Yokoi.
The new Xbox heads will certainly have plenty to work on. Microsoft barely made a splash when it debuted the Xbox One in Japan earlier this year, with reports surfacing all over the web showing sad-looking pictures of the Xbox One launch on Sept. 1.
While Microsoft held a fairly successful midnight launch countdown, with people actually crowding around to view a demonstration of the Xbox One and some 200,000 gamers going online to watch the livestream of the event at home, Microsoft only sold a total of 25,674 Xbox One consoles on its first four days of sale.
To put that into perspective, Microsoft sold more than 60,000 Xbox 360s during the console's first four days in Japan.
In contrast, Sony's PlayStation 4 sold more than 322,000 units in its first two days upon launch, while the Nintendo Wii did nearly just as well selling some 308,000 units within its first two days of sale.
Unfortunately, things never improved for Xbox One after the dismal first week. On its second week, sales plummeted to a pitiful 3,015 units for the entire week. During that time, around 6,000 PlayStation 3 and nearly 24,000 PlayStation 4 consoles were sold. Last week must have been the last straw for Microsoft, with reports coming out of Japan saying it only sold 776 Xbox One units.
Sensui himself said he was "not satisfied" with Xbox One's disappointing launch last September and was focusing his sights on marketing the console to a wider audience.
"We are also aware that reaching out to let more people know about the Xbox One is vital," Sensui said at the time. "However, the current console generation has become very long. We hope to lay out a long-term vision and to focus on publicity for our console."
