Microsoft releasing new Xbox 360 SKU in Japan in last gasp to gain respectability
By James Walker
Microsoft has announced that it will be bringing it’s cheaper Xbox 360 Arcade console to Japan, in what appears to be one last ditch effort to capture a sizable share of the Japanese market.
On Monday Microsoft announced that the entry-level Xbox 360 SKU, which has been available in the United States since last October, will be making its way to the Japanese market. The Xbox 360 Arcade will sell for 27,800 yen, or roughly $260 US and be packed with everything that it is packed with in the United States.
The Xbox 360 has been nothing short of an absolute abysmal failure in Japan, averaging somewhere in the range of 5,200 consoles sold per week. That is less than a quarter of the number that Sony has been able to push out the door with it’s PlayStation 3.
This is not a new story for Microsoft, either. The original Xbox, which found substantial success in the United States and Europe, was a downright failure in Japan. I’m not even sure why Microsoft continues to try and force the Xbox 360 in Japan. Games like Eternal Sonata, games that Microsoft had hoped would spark some kind of interest in the Xbox 360, didn’t do much to sell new consoles, and outside the opening week even the juggernaut that was Halo 3 was no match for Japanese apathy.
The new Xbox 360 SKU is set to debut in Japan on March 6th. So I guess we’ll soon know if this last grasp at Japan respectability. I wouldn’t count on it, and even if you are the biggest 360 fanboy on this Earth, neither should you.
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Tips N4G
February 6th, 2008
Well at least he didn’t post the pic of the smashed Xbox on the story. Selling a quarter of what the PS3 is selling is far from an abysmal failure. Considering that the original Xbox didn’t sell much at all, this is actually quite a big step for Microsoft. Regardless of how small the increase in sales was compared to the original Xbox, it is still an increase, meaning that they have taken some share off Sony in Japan, right?
February 6th, 2008
yeah selling 1/4 in twice the timeframe….that’s more like 1/8th
February 6th, 2008
Only way for MS to complete in Japan, is a free 360 with every game.
February 6th, 2008
Giterdone, you didn’t do too well at math, did you? The post said that they’re selling about a quarter of PS3s a WEEK. Since when does one quarter a week all of a sudden turn into one eighth a week?
February 6th, 2008
If that is what you meant pal, then you #’s are fucking WAY off
February 6th, 2008
Giterdone, did you even READ the article? It was James Walker that said that figure, not me. Idiot…..
February 6th, 2008
Play nice. The lot of ya.
February 7th, 2008
it wud have been nice though…the smashed xbox pic
February 7th, 2008
If that’s what turns you on….
February 8th, 2008
japan? who cares…? why not list sales in Zimbabwe, Saudi Arabia, or Anarctica and use those as a benchmark of success? it makes as much sense.. The fact the 360 is killing the ps3 in sales W/O japanese consumer support should tell you that japan simply doesn’t matter to the console war standings. Besides the 360 easily has the best game library as proven by the highest attach ratio of games to consoles, and yet the japanese refuse to buy it, proving the japanese care more about loyalty than gaming. truly sad but not suprising coming a the land of “Super Happy Fun Time Butterfly Catcher” games and such….