Xbox 360 seeks to win over Japan

The Xbox 360 sold well in the US when it went on sale

Microsoft is taking its fight to rule the video games arena to Sony's and Nintendo's home ground, with the launch of its Xbox 360 in Japan on Saturday.

The software giant is hoping that its next generation games console will make up for the poor performance of its original Xbox in Japan.

The Xbox is estimated to make up just 5% of the Japanese games market, compared to 80% for the PlayStation.

The 360 went on sale in the US on 22 November and in Europe last week.

Queues of hardcore fans outside shops greeted the console, which quickly sold out on both sides of the Atlantic, partly due to limited supplies.

The 360 is estimated to have sold 400,000 units in the US and 75,000 in the UK.

Design turn-off

Microsoft will be hoping for a similar reaction when the console goes on sale on Saturday in Japan, which is the world's second-biggest video game market after the US.

But it has a mountain to climb due to the failure of its first game gadget there.

Xbox 360 is not likely to become a must-buy console here in Japan Nobuyuki Kawamata, Tokai Tokyo Research Centre Lawsuit targets Xbox 360

"Pre-orders on the internet look solid, but I don't think the retail stores will sell out of Xbox 360s in the first day," said Takeshi Tajima, an analyst at BNP Paribas in Tokyo.

"Serious game fans will likely rush to buy them, but I think most people are going to wait and see," he added.

The original Xbox came to Japan in February 2002, almost two years after the PlayStation 2. The delay did little to help Microsoft make it big in Japan.

It has only sold 1.8 million of the original Xbox in Asia, including Japan, out of a global total of 22 million.

By comparison Sony has sold 100 million PlayStation 2s, 22 million of them in Asia.

The chunky black box proved a turn-off for the style-conscious Japanese.

Taste in games

That was only part of the problem for Microsoft. While the top-selling Xbox games in the US are shoot-em-up titles such as Halo, the big hitters in Japan tend to be role-playing fantasy games.

This time round the company has made an effort to sign up leading Japanese game makers to work on exclusive titles for the 360, such as the creator of Final Fantasy games, Hironobu Sakaguchi.

The look of the first Xbox did not appeal in Japan

Unfortunately for Microsoft, none of these games are ready for the Japan debut. Instead most of the launch titles are shooting, racing and sports games.

"Given also the fact that basic functions of Xbox 360 are inferior to Sony's next-generation machine, and that there are not many newly-developed titles ready for the Japanese launch, Xbox 360 is not likely to become a must-buy console here in Japan," said Nobuyuki Kawamata, an analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Centre.

Rival consoles from Sony and Nintendo are not expected to be out until sometime next year.

Sony has talked about spring 2006 as the date for its PlayStation 3 and Nintendo plans to show off its Revolution console at the E3 games expo in the US in May.

The rush to market by Microsoft has also left a bad taste in the mouths of some gamers. Many hardcore fans have been left frustrated by Xbox 360 shortages.

There have also been reports of consoles overheating and crashing. Microsoft says this has only affected a very small number of machines.

Only the fully loaded premium Xbox 360 package will be on sale in Japan, retailing at 37,900 yen ($315).

The price is cheaper than the comparable package in the US, where it sells for around $400.