you can't use these in Japan
Japan is a cash based society. Everything from paying your rent, to buying milk at the grocery store, to settling up a bar tab at the local izakaya is done with cash. They don't have a chequing system either. That concept was rather difficult to explain to some of my business students. They couldn't understand the concept of writing a name and number on a piece of paper, then giving it to some one to exchange for money at a bank. One of my students actually asked me, "Why not just give money? Don't waste the paper." I didn't have a response for that.
Other than a salary man's wages, which is electronically transferred by a compnay to the employee's bank account, everything else is handled in cash.
Foreigners can use credit cards at most major hotels, and maybe some restaurants. All taxis in Japan do accept credit cards in emergencies. And Japan does have one credit card company, called JCB. They also have a popular electronic debiting system. Some people use pre-paid cards for the subways and trains and some people even have their cell phones linked with their bank accounts so they can make small purchases like a burger at McDonald's or a drink from a vending machine. But that's debit, not credit. I'm not sure if any of these services are commonly used in North America, debiting, personal cheques, I've lost touch. But if they are, it's certainly not as common as credit cards.
The Playstation Network in Japan is funded exclusively by their pre-paid PSN debit cards that can be bought in electronics stores, and sometimes even conveniene stores. So far, I've only purchased a single 3000yen card (about $30) that I used to buy some Uncharted 2 multiplayer maps, which was all in English because the game was multi-language, and a Demon's Souls wallpaper that cost 200yen. I didn't even use up the whole card, there's still money left in the Playstation Wallet. Too bad I downloaded it to my old fat PS3, and I couldn't remember my username for my old Japan PSN account once the Welcome Back program started...which was a freakin' long time after the Western version. So I've lost that contenet. But it doesn't matter. That's all the Japanese PSN ever had to offer.
The Japanese PSN network is a shadow of the Western network. It doesn't get timely DLC releases, it's Welcom Back program after the ID theft scandal was not as good as North America's. I downloaded LittleBigPlanet after getting the PSN back, but there wasn't much to choose from on the Japanese version. Playstation Plus exists too, but I can only guess on its popularity, which is probably about as desirable as deep fried butter or donut hamburgers.
did you pay for your Xbox live subscription by credit card? well, Japan didn't
The differences in credit culture could go a long way to explaining why the Xbox 360 never took off in Japan. Xbox Live subscriptions are a monthly or yearly pay service, usually renewed and paid for by credit card. When I went back home for summer vacation last year, my mom was struggling with an Xbox user agreement, trying to figure out the cheapest way to get my little brother back on-line for another year for some more Modern Warfare 2 action. She paid with a credit card. I'm not that familiar with Xbox Live, but is there any other way to pay?
I actually tried to get my little brother to switch to Playstation. I even gave him my old fat PS3 with a Japanese copy of MW2. My parents seemed happy with the fact that PSN was free to play, but it wasn't enough, and my little ten-year-old brother is still an Xbox fanboy. I guess I'm a Playstation fanboy. And so is Japan.
I think Sony took the middle road, or lowest common denominator avenue, when they implemented the Playstation Network. They knew their home base wouldn't accept subscription fees. But Microsoft never gave them a chance by making their on-line service subscription only. They either didn't know, or didn't care that Japan wasn't going to get on board with it. And I think the video game industry is worse off because of it.
Diversity and variety are important in a creative business. Having one console excluded from a whole region and dominant in only a single region, as Xbox is within Japan and North America, has not been healthy for the HD era. JRPGs died out in America, but survived in Japan. Gaming culture is growing further and further apart, even limiting the release of some games in certain regions. (ie Operation Rainfall.)
Overall Japan hasn't really adopted digital distribution just yet, even though they helped invent it. The same can be said for HD gaming. Hulu and Netflix aren't available in Japan, but iTunes is fairly popular. I have no way of judging the popularity of digital distribution sources such as Steam, likely few have heard of it in Japan.
Anyway, that's the reality of Japan, an entire culture based around trying to change their culture as little as possible. I have no grand ending for his, no Kumbaya fancy final wrap with quotable quips for a hopeful future. So I'll just leave you with this. Xbox is dead, but I still want one. Nintendo is for kids, and I definitely don't want one. Yadda yadda yadda.
Ganbarou Nihon!
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