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Gadgets Xbox 360 Bundles Sold Out in Japan
Marcus Yam (Blog) - October 20, 2006 6:31 AM
Print 21 comment(s) - last by Aikouka.. on Oct 23 at 8:30 AM

Screenshot from Blue Dragon
Microsoft can thank Mist Walker for that

It will come as a surprise to many that Xbox 360s have been selling out in Japan, thanks to a special bundle. Actually, sales haven't technically began yet, as only pre-orders are selling out. What has managed to crack the attention of the Japanese, you ask? Blue Dragon, a game from Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi's new studio, is central to a bundle that also includes an Xbox 360 core system, an original Blue Dragon table calendar, a Blue Dragon faceplate featuring artwork by Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball), and a set of five miniature figurines for 29,800 yen (~US$250).

According to a 1UP's sources, Microsoft is planning to produce 100,000 of the Blue Dragon hardware bundles with only 10,000 of them to include all the limited edition bonus material listed above. Apparently, nearly all pre-orders for the limited edition bundles were sold out the first day it was offered.

While the news that Xbox 360 hardware is selling out in Japan is surprising, considering that Microsoft has trouble selling more than 1000 consoles per week, the response to Blue Dragon is as expected. Blue Dragon is the only Xbox 360 game in a long time to grace Famitsu's most-highly-anticipated games list and is set to release on December 7, 2006.

Japanese Xbox boss Takashi Sensui is likely breathing a sigh of relief that Microsoft's one and only ace up its sleeve is having the desired effect: cracking Japan.



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it's all about the games
By h0kiez on 10/20/2006 3:38:38 PM , Rating: 2
It's funny to me how much time and effort people put into talking about the 360 in the US vs. Japan, what's good about this system, why the ps3 is better, blah blah blah. It never ends...and I'm sure MS spent a bunch of money paying some "genius" to figure out how they can crack the Japanese market. It is, always has been, and always will be, about the games. I bought an Xbox for Ninja Gaiden probably 3 years after it came out and wouldn't have otherwise bought one at all. The 360s selection of games needs some rouding out...hopefully this holiday season will take care of that.




RE: it's all about the games
By Lonyo on 10/20/2006 3:58:08 PM , Rating: 2
They knew how to crack the Japanese market...
Make games which appeal to the Japanese. Which is why they hired (IIRC) one of the developers of the Final Fantasy series.


RE: it's all about the games
By IMPoor on 10/20/2006 5:14:24 PM , Rating: 2
Maybe its all about one or two games, but 90% of all games are on all consoles. I get tired of hearing people say there are no good games for the 360. Look at the list above. Most of those are on the 360 already or will be at the time of release. Lets stop saying there are no good games for 360 and start saying I have to have this one game and its only on the PS3 or vice versea.


RE: it's all about the games
By Christopher1 on 10/21/2006 11:17:28 PM , Rating: 2
Actually, it's more like 10% of games are on all consoles. If you look at the XBox versus Playstation 2 vs. Gamecube thing, only a VERY FEW games were or are on all three consoles. Why? Because the developers have to sign some non-compete agreements in order to get the developing kit for the consoles, which includes an agreement to make their game only for one out of the three consoles in most cases.


RE: it's all about the games
By Aikouka on 10/23/2006 8:29:40 AM , Rating: 2
I would say there's a more apparent reason why most games weren't fully cross-console. Look at the PS2 and XBOX. They were fairly similar graphically and could provide nearly the same experience (both had rumble and online play as well). The GameCube wasn't the most powerful and it wasn't meant to be. I believe this is the true reason you'd find most games for PS2 and XBOX but not the GameCube, which lowers the figure a bit.


RE: it's all about the games
By Aikouka on 10/23/2006 8:26:49 AM , Rating: 2
Eh, it's better to clarify your "hire" statement. Microsoft did not hire Sakaguchi. Microsoft gave Sakaguchi the financial backing he needed after the Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within fiasco to start his own company: Mistwalker Studios. Essentially, Microsoft "owns" the studio, but he's not a Microsoft employee :D.


December 7th Release?
By Oscarine on 10/20/2006 2:52:26 PM , Rating: 5
Some sorta joke? heh.

America Attacks Japan with XBox 360!...




RE: December 7th Release?
By xlmussel on 10/20/2006 5:15:02 PM , Rating: 2
A date that will live in infamy indeed


Not just Japan!
By Aikouka on 10/20/2006 2:47:26 PM , Rating: 2
I think this is also a game that a decent amount of XBOX 360 owners will be picking up in America as well. The talent behind it is "legendary" to say the least, and after seeing the promo video from XBOX Live, I'm fairly excited for it. I just hope they include Japanese voices with subtitles, as the game has such an anime feel, that it'd feel awkward not to!

There are also two other games coming out from Mistwalker for the XBOX 360 that're announced. Lost Odyssey and I can't remember the other one. Lost Odyssey actually looks kind of weird... definitely a lot more mature in design compared to Blue Dragon and an interesting premise of limited-immortality (the hero is cursed to live for 1000 years).




RE: Not just Japan!
By The Sword 88 on 10/22/2006 8:02:20 PM , Rating: 2
I am going to buy Blue Dragon or ask for it for Christmas


RE: Not just Japan!
By Aikouka on 10/23/2006 8:30:15 AM , Rating: 2
It doesn't come out in America until January 1, 2007 according to Electronic Boutique's website.


Xbox 360's killer-app (in Japan)
By daftrok on 10/20/2006 2:42:28 PM , Rating: 2
They have got to beat the 24 million sales they did with the old xbox. How many 360s have been sold so far worldwide?




RE: Xbox 360's killer-app (in Japan)
By daftrok on 10/20/2006 2:43:06 PM , Rating: 3
Nvmd, its around 5 million as of June 2006 (thanks wikipedia)


They should have made more!
By 9nails on 10/20/2006 8:55:55 PM , Rating: 2
Sold out?! Heck, for $250 and all that bonus material I would take a few of those Xbox 360's home! That's a real good deal. The only question is why did they stop at just 10,000?

Think we can expect a bundle like that with Halo 3 in North America? Hmmm?




RE: They should have made more!
By tuteja1986 on 10/20/2006 11:34:20 PM , Rating: 2
They made only 100,000 because if you look at XBOX 360 last month sale in japan , it was 5,000. Its a huge jump this month and people are still hungry and Microsoft now is going ramping its production for japanese modle.


I heard...
By TOAOCyrus on 10/20/2006 2:46:08 PM , Rating: 2
I heard they also sold another 90,000 regular Xbox 360 around the same time for a total of 100,000 in a couple of days. Blue Dragon combined with the fact that Japan is only getting 100K PS3's at launch is finally allowing MS to crack that market.




Sold out?
By santa590 on 10/20/2006 7:40:10 PM , Rating: 2
Amazon.co.jp is still taking pre-orders. I believe a typical store will only get 1 or 2 shipments and the rest goes to the bigger store such as Amazon.




Good
By crystal clear on 10/21/2006 7:54:07 AM , Rating: 2
Japan-Sonys homeground
By crystal clear on 10/20/06, Rating: 2
By crystal clear on 10/20/2006 12:17:13 PM , Rating: 2

Blue Dragon off to a good start in Japan
Pre-orders show an unexpected amount of interest.
by Jonathan Lumb, 10/18/2006
52 of 52 users recommend this story.
Microsoft's great white hope for the Japanese market, Blue Dragon, comes out on December 7th in Japan, but pre-orders kicked off across the country today, with a surprising amount of interest. A hardware bundle will be available, including the Xbox 360 core system and the Blue Dragon software for a very reasonable price of 29,800 yen (around $250). As well as this, there will be a limited bundle, featuring all of that, plus an original table calendar, a special Blue Dragon faceplate, illustrated by Akira Toriyama, and a set of five miniature figures of characters from the game, all at the same price. Incredible value, really.
According to one retailer, Microsoft is planning to produce 100,000 of the Blue Dragon hardware bundles, and 10% of these will be the limited set with all the cool Blue Dragon merchandise we mentioned. With all the Toriyama fans in Japan, it might not be surprising to hear that these 10,000 limited sets are being snapped up pretty quickly, but hey, we're talking about the Xbox 360 in Japan -- the machine has been struggling to sell more than a thousand units each week recently. At the end of the first day of pre-orders, most retailers are now sold out of the limited set. One major online retailer sold out of their allotment within five minutes, others managed to last most of the day, but we are seeing a lot of interest across the board. Perhaps Microsoft will finally get a well-earned break in Japan. Keep your eyes peeled for Japan's top ten the week after its release -- it's sure to be interesting.



Source-
http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3154520

Thanks for taking my story lead.




Famitsu
By Suomynona on 10/21/06, Rating: 0
RE: Famitsu
By IceTron on 10/22/06, Rating: -1
RE: Famitsu
By bombardj on 10/23/2006 4:44:24 AM , Rating: 2
Dude, I have been living in Japan for 18 years now and I am ex U.S. Army, you have no idea what your talking about. Racism occurs in Japan, yeah but like it doesn't in the U.S.? Please. They don't call us round-eyes and the only places they don't let us in are not "bars", but whore houses, and then it's usually only because they are afraid we won't pay.

Culture in Japan has a lot to do with loyalty and trust. The reason why Microsoft has trouble lies in this area. They screwed up the initial x-box here and then "cut and run", leaving Japanese customers high and dry. Sony on the other hand has treated them well. Now the x-box 360 looks to have more to offer the Japanese gamer, but they are reluctant to trust Microsoft, and many are loyal to Sony. I personally do own an x-box 360 and would love to see it do well here. If Microsoft can change how Japanese people feel about them, and release the kind of games Japanese people want to play they will do fine. Racism has nothing to do with it.


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