RSSRole-playing game leads to Xbox 360 shortage in Japan
By Tim Conneally | Published August 20, 2008, 11:56 AM
According to an apology Microsoft has issued to Japanese consumers, the demand for Xbox 360 consoles has far outstripped supplies in Japan, and inventories will remain totally sold out until new shipments arrive in September.
Reports began surfacing early this month of major consumer electronics retailers such as Yodobashi Camera and Bic Camera running out of Xbox 360s at metropolitan locations.
According to ASCII MediaWorks research, 28,116 units sold during the week ending August 10th, while Media Crate reports from the previous week listed just 4,941 units sold.
The unprecedented leap in console sales has been attributed to the excitement surrounding Namco Bandai's role playing game Tales of Vesperia, which was launched in Japan on August 6.
Lines almost 200 customers long were reported on the game's launch date, consisting of people waiting to buy a special Tales of Vesperia-themed console bundle. The game is scheduled for launch in the United States on August 26; an EU launch date has not yet been specified.
big win for MS...hopefully for them they can keep it up because the PS3 is now outselling the 360 in the US which is a total flip flop for both consoles...MS has worked very hard to grab some JRPG games this gen to get some market share in JPN....we shall see if it continues....
about Final Fantasy...which is XIII (13)...the whole issue is a mess really...but here goes...there are 2 versions of the game....FF XIII and FF XIII Verses...now...they were both PS3 exclusive since development began...but now...the 360 is getting regular FF13...but its weird...the game will be finished on the PS3...and released in Japan ONLY on the PS3...then they will begin porting the game to the 360...when THAT is done it will get released in North America on BOTH systems...so Japan will have the game on the PS3 for about a year before anyone else in the world sees the game on either system....stupid if you ask me...and FF13 verses is still PS3 exclusive..
not to mention...we're talking at least a 3 disc release on the 360 compared to the single BD for the PS3...
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|well the 360 wins again (is anyone surprised?) ... now hurry MS, feed the Japanese masses.
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|Is Tales of Vesperia really that good??
I think the Wii is the best experience out there. Graphics may be better on the PS3 or Xbox, but for playability - Wii is king.
Come by:
http://afewtips.com
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|Funny I failed to the Wii anywhere in the article or are you just trolling?
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|I think things could have been a little better for MS in Japan, if they received meaningful support earlier in the console's lifecycle. It's a shame that they sat on the side lines until Sony drop the ball.
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|That is definitely impressive. I did not see this happening.
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|Wow! Just wait for the releases of "Infinite Undiscovery" and "The Last Remnant". JRPG's do very well in Japan.
Congrats Xbox 360, you earned this one!
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|Not to mention the next Final Fantasy, which I believe the 360 is getting first. Bet Sony is real thrilled.
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|Well not really. What I heard is that FF porting wasn't even started when they annouced 360 availability. Also it seems that Sony has exclusive rights for Japan. Anyway Kudos for Microsoft having aggresive stand on X360.
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|It's about time the nitwits finally figured out that most Japanese don't like playing "Super Generic First Person Shooter Ultra Death Kill" or "Bubba's Big Deer Slaughter 2008". Now maybe they can gain some market share over there.
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|"Super Generic First Person Shooter Ultra Death Kill"
Hey! That's my favorite game, you insensitive clod! ;)
(...and an excellent name for a flash FPS...)
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|lol!
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