PS2 taking a strong lead in Korea
Sony's PlayStation 2 is the most popular console in South Korea by an overwhelming margin, according to a recent survey, despite Microsoft's best efforts to establish the Xbox in this emerging marketplace.
Sony's PlayStation 2 is the most popular console in South Korea by an overwhelming margin, according to a recent survey, despite Microsoft's best efforts to establish the Xbox in this emerging marketplace.
Microsoft's efforts in this marketplace, which has traditionally been heavily PC game dominated and is one of the leading lights in online gaming, have included major price cuts to both hardware and software, and heavy marketing presence.
However, it would appear that Sony's hardware is still a long way out in front in the country - with 92.5 per cent of those polled in the survey, conducted by Emtain, stating that they preferred the PS2 to the Xbox.
Quizzed on the reasons for their preference, players cited the lack of Korean language software and poor customer service as their key problems with the Xbox. It's not like Sony has a home advantage in Korea in these respects, since it needs to translate its games into Korean just as Microsoft does, and these results don't bode well for Microsoft's plans to release more western content in the Far East.
By way of reference, the PS2 rolled out in Japan almost a year ahead of the Xbox, and currently has an installed base of some 600,000 units - ten times ahead of Microsoft's Xbox installed base of 60,000 units.