Microsoft of Japan has announced the Japanese Xbox pricing and release date at an event in Tokyo today.
The machine will debut on the February 22 and cost a mere £184 at launch, which will be accompanied by 12 titles from day one.
Mitch Koch, Microsoft’s Vice-President for global retail sales stated that there will be 22 games available in Japan by the March 31. When questioned as to how many launch units will be available, Koch seemed a little shaky. “We're not giving a specific number, but again, the strategy will be similar to the US," he said.
He did however, confirm that 50,000 Special Edition Xbox machines would be available at launch, something that remained unknown until yesterday. These consoles are described by Microsoft thusly:
“The special console will be greenish-black with a translucent textured casing. The jewel portion of the box will have a silver logo with black lettering. In addition to the standard AV adapter and the HDTV and Dolby Digital 5.1-compatible expansion AV pack, a silver-plated key chain will be included in the package. The key chain will feature an engraved serial number and signature from Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates. The Xbox Special Edition will be available for an estimated retail price of 39,800 yen”
"Xbox has become a cultural phenomenon in North America that we’re confident will spread around the world,” said Robbie Bach, Chief Xbox Officer at Microsoft. “From that position of strength, we’re working with our industry partners to tap into the growing excitement for Xbox and Xbox games in Japan."
The launch titles are:
Jet Set Radio Future by Sega
Genma Onimusha by Capcom
Silent Hill 2 by Konami
Double S.T.E.A.L. by Bukasha
Air Force Delta by Konami
Hyper Sports 2002 Winter by Konami
ESPN Winter X-Games by Konami
Nobunaga's Ambition: Chronicles of Chaos by Koei
Nezmix by Microsoft
Tenku: Freestyle Snowboarding by Microsoft
Project Gotham Racing: World Street Racer by Microsoft
Dead or Alive 3 by Tecmo
The machine will debut on the February 22 and cost a mere £184 at launch, which will be accompanied by 12 titles from day one.
Mitch Koch, Microsoft’s Vice-President for global retail sales stated that there will be 22 games available in Japan by the March 31. When questioned as to how many launch units will be available, Koch seemed a little shaky. “We're not giving a specific number, but again, the strategy will be similar to the US," he said.
He did however, confirm that 50,000 Special Edition Xbox machines would be available at launch, something that remained unknown until yesterday. These consoles are described by Microsoft thusly:
“The special console will be greenish-black with a translucent textured casing. The jewel portion of the box will have a silver logo with black lettering. In addition to the standard AV adapter and the HDTV and Dolby Digital 5.1-compatible expansion AV pack, a silver-plated key chain will be included in the package. The key chain will feature an engraved serial number and signature from Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates. The Xbox Special Edition will be available for an estimated retail price of 39,800 yen”
"Xbox has become a cultural phenomenon in North America that we’re confident will spread around the world,” said Robbie Bach, Chief Xbox Officer at Microsoft. “From that position of strength, we’re working with our industry partners to tap into the growing excitement for Xbox and Xbox games in Japan."
The launch titles are:
Jet Set Radio Future by Sega
Genma Onimusha by Capcom
Silent Hill 2 by Konami
Double S.T.E.A.L. by Bukasha
Air Force Delta by Konami
Hyper Sports 2002 Winter by Konami
ESPN Winter X-Games by Konami
Nobunaga's Ambition: Chronicles of Chaos by Koei
Nezmix by Microsoft
Tenku: Freestyle Snowboarding by Microsoft
Project Gotham Racing: World Street Racer by Microsoft
Dead or Alive 3 by Tecmo
People:
Robbie Bach
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