Moore Promises Free Girlfriend With Every 360 at Muted Japanese Launch!
The Xbox 360 Japanese launch a resounding success say Microsoft.
The Xbox 360 launch in Japan this weekend has been declared a resounding success. Well...by Microsoft, at least. With hundreds of Japanese gamers eager to get their hands on a 360, there were even reports of cheering from our rather more subdued Japanese cousins. But no hollering or whooping.
A number of other perhaps more objective commentators were a little less pumped by the launch, which took place at 7AM at a store in the Shibuya Tsutaya Shopping Centre – a popular launch venue for games companies. Rather ominously, it’s the same venue where Microsoft unveiled its original Xbox to the Japanese back in 2002.
There were, depending on which reports you read, around 80 to 250 fans in attendance, some of whom had been queuing for several hours for a chance to be one of the first to buy the console.
Tokyo-based website www.DigitalWorldTokyo.com noted that the weekend’s launch event was “...as expected, pretty uneventful," and went on to say that, "there was a sprinkling of customers in line for the 7AM kick-off, but consoles remained available throughout the day, according to local traders”. This is a somewhat different story to the recent US and UK launches, where consoles sold out in hours, and are still changing hands on eBay for extortionate prices.
China View news agency also noted that only about 10 people were in line when a central Tokyo outlet of the Bic Camera consumer electronics chain opened its Xbox sales counter at 7AM. Kentaro Okamoto (26), a customer at that store, even though buying the console, was somewhat negative about its longer-term success, commenting that, "It's not going to be a big hit in Japan. I buy every new game console ... but normally Japanese customers only buy a machine when it's made by Sony or Nintendo."
In order to whip up the maximum amount of excitement with the early morning crowd, the event was hosted by Hisanori Yoshida, a famous DJ from the Nippon Broadcasting radio station. The crowd cheered when Yoshihiro Maruyama, Microsoft Japan's Xbox operations chief, came up on stage.
"Thank you all for coming so early to the countdown ceremony today," said Maruyama. "We've finally been able to make our way to the Xbox 360's launch here in Japan. We've all been doing our best to respond to everyone's expectations, and we're finally going to be able to deliver it today. We're anxious to see if everyone will enjoy it." Maruyama went on to reveal his most-played 360 game so far has been Ridge Racer 6. He also recommended the forthcoming Japanese version of Project Gotham Racing 3, noting that, “I've rode around the city of Shinjuku a lot and I could see the pubs and stores that I go to, which is pretty cool."
Microsoft corporate vice president of worldwide marketing and publishing Peter Moore followed Murayami up on the stage and received a huge cheer from the crowd after telling them "Ohayougozaimasu!" - 'good morning' in Japanese. When questioned after the event, Moore was predictably upbeat about the launch: "It went great, we had a super crowd despite the early hour.”
The first Japanese customer to buy a 360 was asked by host DJ Yoshida if he'll be playing with his girlfriend, only to mumble and dodge 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."
We all know that sales of the first Xbox have seriously lagged behind the far more popular PS2 and GameCube in Japan, but offering free girlfriends with every unit bought is surely the most guaranteed added-value sales ploy to ensure that the console flies off the shelves.
Six titles launched alongside the new 360, with a further four due by the end of the year, plus imminent announcements on other new titles in development. The Xbox 360, which has so far already sold 400,000 units in the US and 75,000 in the UK, costs 39,795 yen ($331; £188).
More news on Japan’s take-up of the 360 and - more importantly - the success of the free girlfriend offer as it breaks…
A number of other perhaps more objective commentators were a little less pumped by the launch, which took place at 7AM at a store in the Shibuya Tsutaya Shopping Centre – a popular launch venue for games companies. Rather ominously, it’s the same venue where Microsoft unveiled its original Xbox to the Japanese back in 2002.
There were, depending on which reports you read, around 80 to 250 fans in attendance, some of whom had been queuing for several hours for a chance to be one of the first to buy the console.
Tokyo-based website www.DigitalWorldTokyo.com noted that the weekend’s launch event was “...as expected, pretty uneventful," and went on to say that, "there was a sprinkling of customers in line for the 7AM kick-off, but consoles remained available throughout the day, according to local traders”. This is a somewhat different story to the recent US and UK launches, where consoles sold out in hours, and are still changing hands on eBay for extortionate prices.
China View news agency also noted that only about 10 people were in line when a central Tokyo outlet of the Bic Camera consumer electronics chain opened its Xbox sales counter at 7AM. Kentaro Okamoto (26), a customer at that store, even though buying the console, was somewhat negative about its longer-term success, commenting that, "It's not going to be a big hit in Japan. I buy every new game console ... but normally Japanese customers only buy a machine when it's made by Sony or Nintendo."
In order to whip up the maximum amount of excitement with the early morning crowd, the event was hosted by Hisanori Yoshida, a famous DJ from the Nippon Broadcasting radio station. The crowd cheered when Yoshihiro Maruyama, Microsoft Japan's Xbox operations chief, came up on stage.
"Thank you all for coming so early to the countdown ceremony today," said Maruyama. "We've finally been able to make our way to the Xbox 360's launch here in Japan. We've all been doing our best to respond to everyone's expectations, and we're finally going to be able to deliver it today. We're anxious to see if everyone will enjoy it." Maruyama went on to reveal his most-played 360 game so far has been Ridge Racer 6. He also recommended the forthcoming Japanese version of Project Gotham Racing 3, noting that, “I've rode around the city of Shinjuku a lot and I could see the pubs and stores that I go to, which is pretty cool."
Microsoft corporate vice president of worldwide marketing and publishing Peter Moore followed Murayami up on the stage and received a huge cheer from the crowd after telling them "Ohayougozaimasu!" - 'good morning' in Japanese. When questioned after the event, Moore was predictably upbeat about the launch: "It went great, we had a super crowd despite the early hour.”
The first Japanese customer to buy a 360 was asked by host DJ Yoshida if he'll be playing with his girlfriend, only to mumble and dodge 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."
We all know that sales of the first Xbox have seriously lagged behind the far more popular PS2 and GameCube in Japan, but offering free girlfriends with every unit bought is surely the most guaranteed added-value sales ploy to ensure that the console flies off the shelves.
Six titles launched alongside the new 360, with a further four due by the end of the year, plus imminent announcements on other new titles in development. The Xbox 360, which has so far already sold 400,000 units in the US and 75,000 in the UK, costs 39,795 yen ($331; £188).
More news on Japan’s take-up of the 360 and - more importantly - the success of the free girlfriend offer as it breaks…
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Comments
Dreadknux 12 Dec 2005 11:42
1/4
How much? Considering 10,000 Yen is about £50, to have an XBOX 360 for less than 200 smackers is somewhat of a kick in the balls to Westerners, particularly those that went to eXtortionate eBay for their nextgen goodness.
Having said that, Microsoft's got a bit of a battle ahead of them haven't they? What's ironic is that apart from more J-Dev support, they're pretty much in the same boat as when they launched the original XBOX. I think the size of the console's going to put some Japanese consumers off, but then you've got Hironobu Sakaguchi and Blue Dragon, which is bound to get Japanese gamers excited.
I guess it's all to play for in Japan right now, naturally not many people are going to buy it on launch day, because they all remember how 'well' the original XBOX sold. What will be interesting to see is whether Microsoft can actually make good on their promise for more Japanese developer support, or will Mistwalker just become another MS-Japan attachment like Team Ninja has?
And Peter Moore - guaranteed a girlfriend? How cheesy. You can tell he's British. :3
Having said that, Microsoft's got a bit of a battle ahead of them haven't they? What's ironic is that apart from more J-Dev support, they're pretty much in the same boat as when they launched the original XBOX. I think the size of the console's going to put some Japanese consumers off, but then you've got Hironobu Sakaguchi and Blue Dragon, which is bound to get Japanese gamers excited.
I guess it's all to play for in Japan right now, naturally not many people are going to buy it on launch day, because they all remember how 'well' the original XBOX sold. What will be interesting to see is whether Microsoft can actually make good on their promise for more Japanese developer support, or will Mistwalker just become another MS-Japan attachment like Team Ninja has?
And Peter Moore - guaranteed a girlfriend? How cheesy. You can tell he's British. :3
peppermonkey 12 Dec 2005 18:10
2/4
Umm... 39,795 Yen generally converts to around $333USD ....which is rather expensive for the states as it's $300 to buy in the US (core system). The only reason it's expensive to get on eBay is that it's sold out in the states.
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LUPOS 12 Dec 2005 19:43
3/4
japan doesnt have the whole core/premium thing... its onl the premium pack... which makes 333 pretty cheap since i spent 400 on mine.
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wanderingsoul 13 Dec 2005 03:34
4/4
I wonder if Microsoft realizes it's losing money faster than you can say Michael Jackson.