X360 Japanese Launch Event Sells Out

[bean19]

According to Gamespot (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6141063.html) the Xbox 360 sold out within 30 minutes of the launch in Japan at the Japanese launch event. Peter Moore was on hand, and some fanfare and to do was made over the launch.

After Maruyama finished his speech, Microsoft corporate vice president of worldwide marketing and publishing Peter Moore (who also had stopped by the Xbox party last night) came up on stage. He received a huge cheer from the fans at the Shibuya Tsutaya after telling them "Ohayougozaimasu!"--"good morning" in Japanese.

He then continued in English. "Thank you for getting up so early in the morning here to welcome the new era of gaming with the Xbox 360," he said through a translator. "On November 22nd, just a few weeks ago, we were very proud to introduce the Xbox 360 into the United States. Hundreds of thousands of people were able to buy the console that night, and have been playing great games ever since." said Moore, who went on to explain that the console has also a big a hit in Europe.

"But as exciting as those two events were, nothing is more exciting for me personally than to be here in Tokyo this morning, with seven minutes to go to the launch of Xbox 360 here in Japan," continued Moore, who has been committed to penetrating the Japanese game market, where the original Xbox never gained major popularity.

"I want to give my thanks to the hundreds of people who work at Microsoft here in Tokyo that have labored the last two and a half [to] three years to enable to get us here," Moore said. "And perhaps equally as importantly, my thanks to the fans of the Xbox here in Japan, who have been so loyal to us though our difficult times in the first generation. Your loyalty will pay off with incredible gaming experiences in the next generation."

After Moore finished his speech, a large high-definition monitor on the stage began counting down the last remaining six minutes--360 seconds--until the opening of the store. Then the anxious customer waiting in line to purchase the first official Xbox 360 in Japan was pulled on stage. The customer, a 22-year-old graphic designer, had come to the Shibuya Tsutaya on Thursday morning, but was turned away because the numbered tickets for the event were not yet being handed out. Today, he got in line at 4 a.m., long before trains begin to run in Tokyo. Fortunately, he works in the area, so he decided to spend the night at his office.
I was almost hoping for an initial drought in sales in Japan even though I know that good system sales will eventually turn into more and better games for those of us in the United States. Still, the unit being unpopular there might lead to faster replenishments here, and I need my X360 NOW dang it!

[makkura]

thats good news, maybe the sony fanboy will shut up now...

heh who am i kidding ?

flame on !

[TrackZero]

thats good news, maybe the sony fanboy will shut up now...

heh who am i kidding ?

flame on !

LOL, you know it. This won't do anything to convince them. Still, it's good to see Japanese fans scooping this up early, it helps get some more Japanese developers onboard Im sure.

[Ludoc]

I'm a big MS fan(boy) and welcome pro-360 news but this really doesn't mean much. How many guys over there heard of the North American launch hype/drought, bought one and put it immediately on E-bay? I imagine there will be a large number of Japanese consoles in America very shortly.

[TheBrainKills]

Umm they don't say how many they had, if they only had 10 units then no wonder they sold out.

[CaptStu]

I believe they had stocks up to 300,000 for launch day.

[bapenguin]

I believe they had stocks up to 300,000 for launch day.

I thought it was 150,000 for Japan.

[KamaItachi]

I swear to god, if this means my FFXI pre-order system is gone, I will be kicking some very serious ass in the new year.

[makkura]

bruce lee style ?

[KamaItachi]

Conan style. I already have the furry boots for Winter.

[makkura]

i doubt you could swing his sword =)

[Okamura_Takashi]

at the two stores I went to today, there were plenty of Xbox 360 machines to be had. Not many people were buying them and at the bigger of the two stores I saw at least 40 units waiting to be sold.

I bet they will all sell out eventually, but not for at least another week or so. Nothing like the US launch.

Probably, one of the reasons it isn't selling well is DOA4 was delayed AGAIN, enchant arm [eM] (whatever it's called) was delayed, N3 doesn't come out until next year and at least for me there's no Kameo...

[fushi]

Well... it surely didn't sell out at this store (http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/game/docs/20051210/akiba17.htm). At certain stores the launch-thingamajig was cancelled because no-one came. Hooray for anecdotal evidence!

Edit: But honestly, things like that don't mean much, because even the DS didn't have long queues at certian popular spots when it was launched.

Edit: And you should've quoted this part:
When asked by host Yoshida if he'll be playing with his girlfriend, the customer quietly mumbled and dodged the question. Later on, Moore teased him, saying "I'd like to tell our lucky winner, that he's a guaranteed girlfriend with every Xbox 360."

[buckfutter]

Pretty misleading article title. It sold out at the launch store, not all across Japan.

[KamaItachi]

i doubt you could swing his sword =)

Just as long as I can fill his thong...

[BenN1ce]

Wow I'm impressed. They sold 250 360's at one place. I think the headline "sold out" was a bit misleading. The question is what is the total number of 360's sold not how many got sold at one location. The 360 will do what the XBOX did in Japan and maybe a little better but will obviously not touch Nintendo or Sony.

[boratika]

at the two stores I went to today, there were plenty of Xbox 360 machines to be had. Not many people were buying them and at the bigger of the two stores I saw at least 40 units waiting to be sold.


How many guys over there heard of the North American launch hype/drought, bought one and put it immediately on E-bay?

I see a "buisness" venture in this thread for those in japan...

[Rirath]

Can we get a mod to change that title, please?

[makkura]

the title is right, the article is not misleading, it is sold out AT THE LAUNCH event

[fushi]

I agree on changing the title.
the title is right, the article is not misleading, it is sold out AT THE LAUNCH event
Shut up. The article obviously isn't misleading, but the title of the newspost is.

[makkura]

only one word is missing....geez

[buckfutter]

Hey guys, I've got this great idea for a newspost:

Title: PS3 TWICE AS POWERFUL AS XBOX360!

Article: ... in terms of theoretical floating point performance quoted from Sony documentation.

[Camalot]

play-asia.com still has em, if anyone wants a japanese xbox 360. Pretty reasonable too 499.00.

[ezra]

<stupid>

EA is biased towards ***! All the posts are pro-xbox! You should have ignored this news to prove you aren't biased! EA is biased because *** doesn't fuck with its customers as much as sony does! Blah! Blah!

</stupid>

Now that we've got that out of the way...

Edit: damn, should have read the article first. But my point still stands.

[fushi]

only one word is missing....geez
Well geez, it wouldn't be such a problem if that one word wouldn't make quite a big difference.

Gaming journalism is shady as it is, there's no need to skew information even more.

[buckfutter]

<stupid>

EA is biased towards ***! All the posts are pro-xbox! You should have ignored this news to prove you aren't biased! EA is biased because *** doesn't fuck with its customers as much as sony does! Blah! Blah!

</stupid>

Now that we've got that out of the way...

Edit: damn, should have read the article first. But my point still stands.

That was the most thorough self-owning I've seen in weeks. Congratulations.

I like how the post being evidence, however minimal, of the counter to your argument means your point still stands.

[bapenguin]

fixed the title.

[makkura]

that ought to hold the sob's

[bean19]

at the two stores I went to today, there were plenty of Xbox 360 machines to be had. Not many people were buying them and at the bigger of the two stores I saw at least 40 units waiting to be sold.

I bet they will all sell out eventually, but not for at least another week or so. Nothing like the US launch.

Probably, one of the reasons it isn't selling well is DOA4 was delayed AGAIN, enchant arm [eM] (whatever it's called) was delayed, N3 doesn't come out until next year and at least for me there's no Kameo...

Do you think that Blue Dragon, the RPG by Mistwalker that has Honorobu Sakugichi as the deisgner, Nobuo Uematsu as the composer, and Akira Toriyama as the lead artist will sell consoles in Japan?

[bean19]

fixed the title.

Thanks. . . I guess.

What did I have before? I remember thinking about this and trying to be clear that the information only pertained to the launch event.

[makkura]

i'm sure it will sell a lot of consoles, i think thats what killed the xbox in the first place, the lack of top notch rpg's, if microsoft can get square games they will fare much better.

[Kelegacy]

I read on Gamespot that the launch even was relatively small, right? Microsoft's Lounge was jam-packed, but then again it only held one or 2 dozen people. So yeah, it's misleading. But this was mostly expected.

I love the fact that MS gives me my Western fix, Sony gives me my Eastern fix, and Nintendo gives me games that transcend continents. Together they are one perfect console, broken into 3 segments.

[mister_slim]

I love the fact that MS gives me my Western fix, Sony gives me my Eastern fix, and Nintendo gives me games that transcend continents. Together they are one perfect console, broken into 3 segments.
The Console of Courage, the Console of Wisdom, and the Console of Power (but which is which?). Your task is to collect all three to save our fair land.

[XenonCJ]

The Console of Courage, the Console of Wisdom, and the Console of Power (but which is which?). Your task is to collect all three to save our fair land.

Revolution = Courage
360 = Wisdom
Ps3 = Power

[Zeal]

Jeez, Microsoft is seriously full of shit. They line up about a 1000 consoles for the fanatics, sell them out, and claim domination.

I hate Sony, but the PS3 is gonna eat them alive.

[ezra]

That was the most thorough self-owning I've seen in weeks. Congratulations.

I like how the post being evidence, however minimal, of the counter to your argument means your point still stands.

Hey look, its the grinch!

In case you missed it, my point was that people who complain that EA is severely biased towards MS need to take a chill pill. Whether the xbox sold out in japan or not, my point still stands. Its just not as relevant.

[Achilles]

I thought it was 150,000 for Japan.Yep.

The Japanese systems would also be region locked most likely, so I doubt they'd sell outside of Japan on e-bay unless they didn't tell people where they came from.

Selling out is huge, especially since both of their biggest titles, DOA4 and N3 were pushed back. Selling out one event on the other hand is less huge than it is inevitable.

[KamaItachi]

The Japanese systems are locked, and so far all games are locked too. Surprisingly, MS hasn't been as thorough as they previously said with regions as some of the U.S. release games are region free. Much to my Joy, Condemned was one of them.

Really, the non-phenominal launch isn't that much of a surprise. MS lost 2 of it's big titles {EM} and D.O.A. which only left Ridge Racer as the "must have" title at launch. Despite the good reviews, not many people are going to pick up PD0, just because it was a FPS, other than that, Everyparty? Tetris? FIFA? I suppose that leaves the WrestleKingdom one, or whatever it was... far from hard-hitting stuff.

[TrackZero]

Revolution = Courage
360 = Wisdom
Ps3 = Power

My god, it's full of stars.

[buckfutter]

Hey look, its the grinch!

In case you missed it, my point was that people who complain that EA is severely biased towards MS need to take a chill pill. Whether the xbox sold out in japan or not, my point still stands. Its just not as relevant.

Calling them stupid means they should take a chill pill?

I think you mean "irrelevant".

[TrackZero]

http://www.playfuls.com/itnews_378.html

I love this quote from this article:

"one retailer in Tokyo even said that he had sold less than 50 consoles in the first two hours."

You mean a single store actually had 50 consoles? WTF!

[Groo]

http://www.playfuls.com/itnews_378.html

I love this quote from this article:

"one retailer in Tokyo even said that he had sold less than 50 consoles in the first two hours."

You mean a single store actually had 50 consoles? WTF!

The US has 50 states. Japan is about the size of one US state. The US had 300k consoles split up among 50 states. Japan gets 150,000 consoles. Not only that, but I'm sure most of the consoles got sent to Tokyo.

Americans and Europeans "appreciate" the Xbox 360. If the Japanese don't want it, then fuck them. I'm sure that Japan's allocation of 360s would have sold out instantly in the US.

[JediSanf]

The US has 50 states. Japan is about the size of one US state. The US had 300k consoles split up among 50 states. Japan gets 150,000 consoles. Not only that, but I'm sure most of the consoles got sent to Tokyo.

The US has an approximate population of 295,734,134. Japan has a population of about 127,417,244. This is roughly a 2:1 ratio (moreso if you break it down into age groups most liklely to play video games). That is most likely why America got twice as many consoles. In any case, Microsoft shipping according to area seems... misguided.

[KamaItachi]

Americans and Europeans "appreciate" the Xbox 360. If the Japanese don't want it, then fuck them. I'm sure that Japan's allocation of 360s would have sold out instantly in the US.


Oh come on, just because it didn't sell out within 24 hours means they don't deserve it?
Have you seen the lineup? The 360 launched with around 20 titles in the U.S. and E.U. and 2-3 big name games. It launched in Japan with 6 and one big(ish) game (RR6). Everything else has been pushed back. There's not much reason to get one until [EM] and D.O.A. come out later this month/next month.

[Hellstorm]

Here is an honest to god Pic from a 1up.com reporter outside a major Japanese electronics store 25 minutes before the store opens to sell 360s.

Click here (http://www.yukihime.com/board/360aki/yodobashi-635.jpg)


here is some cops holding back the wave of humanity (http://www.yukihime.com/board/360aki/guess-we-wont-be-needing-these.jpg)

[Hellstorm]

Now just to be fair and prove this isn't an isolated event, here is a pick from another major store from Akihabara

http://www.yukihime.com/board/360aki/asobit-crew.jpg

A whole person. some booth babes and some MS Japan empolyees.

[JediSanf]

Here is an honest to god Pic from a 1up.com reporter outside a major Japanese electronics store 25 minutes before the store opens to sell 360s.

Click here (http://www.yukihime.com/board/360aki/yodobashi-635.jpg)


here is some cops holding back the wave of humanity (http://www.yukihime.com/board/360aki/guess-we-wont-be-needing-these.jpg)

Good to see the other manufacturers evenly represented in that first pic (DS and PSP).

[Groo]

Oh come on, just because it didn't sell out within 24 hours means they don't deserve it?
Have you seen the lineup? The 360 launched with around 20 titles in the U.S. and E.U. and 2-3 big name games. It launched in Japan with 6 and one big(ish) game (RR6). Everything else has been pushed back. There's not much reason to get one until [EM] and D.O.A. come out later this month/next month.

Since when do Japanese gamers buy systems because of quality software? The PS2 had next to 0 quality software when it launched, but it managed to sell out instantly.

[KamaItachi]

Since when do Japanese gamers buy systems because of quality software? The PS2 had next to 0 quality software when it launched, but it managed to sell out instantly.

It was at least following up on a well supported platform and had B/C to keep gamers ticked over until the good titles arrived.

MS still has everything to prove with regards the 360 and the first step is having games that people are going to play. Backwards compatability with 5 odd games you'd have dificulty finding, Tertis and Everyparty are not going to cut it.


Just editing here to add: Let's see what the final figures are at the end of the week before we start giving out reasons why the system didn't sell and whose fault it is. There's still a load of potential for the 360, but it's naive to think it's going to be anythign but a slow burner until the heavy hitting titles come out. Just give it time.

[Kelegacy]

Here is an honest to god Pic from a 1up.com reporter outside a major Japanese electronics store 25 minutes before the store opens to sell 360s.

Click here (http://www.yukihime.com/board/360aki/yodobashi-635.jpg)


here is some cops holding back the wave of humanity (http://www.yukihime.com/board/360aki/guess-we-wont-be-needing-these.jpg)

Haha, that's hilarious stuff.

[Groo]

It was at least following up on a well supported platform and had B/C to keep gamers ticked over until the good titles arrived.


Understandble that it would at least sell well. But there was a FRENZY during the Japanesee launch for the PS2. It is unexplainable by mere backwards compaitability.

[Last of the Red Hot Mamas]

One interesting claim I saw at another forum: Microsoft supposedly invented their own Japanese word for "high definition" instead of using the commonly accepted ones ("HD" and "Hi-Vision," apparently). Dunno if that's true or not (KamaItachi?) but if it is it sounds like their Japanese marketing department hasn't learned much.

[XenonCJ]

So is there anywhere that has some actual sales figures?

Still kinda hard for me to understand a total lack of interest... I mean the thing is new, powerful, looks cool, and there's not going to be anything like it for about 4 months or so..

[Twigz'N'Berries]

You really expect the PS3 in May...I wonder if it will happen. If it was launching in May, they need to start manufacturing in the next month or so.

[KamaItachi]

One interesting claim I saw at another forum: Microsoft supposedly invented their own Japanese word for "high definition" instead of using the commonly accepted ones ("HD" and "Hi-Vision," apparently). Dunno if that's true or not (KamaItachi?) but if it is it sounds like their Japanese marketing department hasn't learned much.


I haven't heard that, only really seen HDTV and such on adverts but that was for tvs. I haven't seen a lot of xbox advertising/marketing bar those for upcoming games so it's entirely possible I've missed it. Also as you may have already seen Japanese are quite fond of squashing foreign words down (i.e. "pasocon" for personal computer "Digicam" for digital camera) to become accepted as official words.

I can see them doing it too. HD still seems to be an emerging tech here (picking up speed though) so if MS can get one of their buzzwords in early enough, people would associate HD with MS/Xbox.

I'll have a quick flick through my old Famitsus, see if I notice anything.

[XenonCJ]

I haven't heard that, only really seen HDTV and such on adverts but that was for tvs. I haven't seen a lot of xbox advertising/marketing bar those for upcoming games so it's entirely possible I've missed it. Also as you may have already seen Japanese are quite fond of squashing foreign words down (i.e. "pasocon" for personal computer "Digicam" for digital camera) to become accepted as official words.

I can see them doing it too. HD still seems to be an emerging tech here (picking up speed though) so if MS can get one of their buzzwords in early enough, people would associate HD with MS/Xbox.

I'll have a quick flick through my old Famitsus, see if I notice anything.Hmmm, "upcoming games"? You do realize ALL 360 games (including launch titles) are designed for HD right? Perhaps this is another example of the failure of MS marketing in Japan?

[KamaItachi]

Hmmm, "upcoming games"? You do realize ALL 360 games (including launch titles) are designed for HD right? Perhaps this is another example of the failure of MS marketing in Japan?

I meant that I haven't seen much advertising for the 360 aside from those for games and until about 2 days ago, they were all "upcoming games" here. While MS is spinning the HD element, it's not emblazened on the posters for all to see. I think some people might be more interested in seeing when it's out and who's behind it and leave the comments about HD gaming as bullet points for the system itself.

[XenonCJ]

I meant that I haven't seen much advertising for the 360 aside from those for games and until about 2 days ago, they were all "upcoming games" here. While MS is spinning the HD element, it's not emblazened on the posters for all to see. I think some people might be more interested in seeing when it's out and who's behind it and leave the comments about HD gaming as bullet points for the system itself.Hmmm ok I see... So, I guess the million dollar questions is, did you get one Mr. Japanese dude?

[GrinR]

LOL Xbox360 launch... Marketing Apocalypse

[KamaItachi]

Hmmm ok I see... So, I guess the million dollar questions is, did you get one Mr. Japanese dude?

Unfortunately, no (http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7846).

But should I come into 1,000 dollars by this Friday before I'm off on hiliday you better believe I'd grab one. As it stands, I'm probably going to have to wait until the New Year and see how kind the reviewers have been to Enchant Arm

[Last of the Red Hot Mamas]

I can see them doing it too. HD still seems to be an emerging tech here (picking up speed though) so if MS can get one of their buzzwords in early enough, people would associate HD with MS/Xbox.

I dunno -- I find it really difficult to believe the Japanese don't have any established words to describe the technology, seeing how they were pretty much the pioneers (the first modern HD system was developed by NHK) and have been broadcasting HD signals since the early '90s. (Incidentally, that info came from the this thread (http://www.ga-forum.com/showthread.php?t=75264&page=3&pp=50) over on G-A, which is otherwise useless fanboy bickering.)

[KamaItachi]

I just meant that I hadn't seen the new buzzword you mentioned. When I've been looking at tvs (which isn't that often as I'm moving soon and buying one would be a big fat waste of money) I've only seen it references to HD. Maybe that's the only one I'm picking up on because I'm not actively looking for anything else. I'm no expert on this new evolving lingo the hep cats are into these days.

Now I look at the threads, I have seen the "hidefinition comes" one, but I took it that high definition might already be one of those words they half-inched from english and use because nobody knows what it means and they can act smug and superior (cosmetics advertising is full of this). I haven't seen the "haidefu" one, but as I said, I've been following the coverage of the games rather than the console itself. So feel free to take these guys word over mine.

I do agree 100% with their comments about what sucked with the launch though.