No more Xbox 360’s in Japan
Filed under: Gaming, Xbox 360 | By: Daniel
Posted on: August 20, 2008 | 6 Comments
Its been known for a while now that the Xbox 360 leads in the United States but trails behind the Sony PS3 and Nintendo Wii in Japan and Europe, but today things are looking a little different.
There are no more Xbox 360’s left in Japan (well until they get a new delivery). There were rumors that the 360 was sold out in one main store in Japan, but today we are hearing that the whole country has sold out.
Microsoft Japan has actually issued an official statement explaining the situation, and saying sorry for the lack of Xbox 360’s.
The reason they gave for the lack of 360’s was for their “own sales targets being exceeded by the actual customer sales”. They went on to “deeply apologize” to business partners, retailers and of course customers.
Japan will be getting more standard Xbox 360’s first in September, and then Microsoft will ship more Arcade and Elite models.
So with this latest news in hand, does it look like the Xbox 360 is starting to make ground in Japan and will Europe be next?
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You know what, I think people get bored with their current tech and want something new. In Europe and the US people have had their 360s for a while and are buying PS3s and now Japan are going the other way.
Actually all this hype is for the release of one game that was a bought exclusive for the 360 and aimed squarely at the Japanese market. It’s not surprising they sold out as stores probably only had a handful each as they don’t normally sell that well.
People are buying the 360 for this game, then when it RROD’s they’ll probably not even bother getting it replaced! It amazes me how the 360 outselling the PS3 for ONE WEEK in Japan (a place with relatively low weekly sales) is being made out to be the biggest come back since Jesus! Yet the PS3 outsells the 360 in it’s native America (where sales volumes are much more significant) for the THIRD MONTH in a row and no one bats an eyelid… Crazy!
Also expect the PS3 to get another shot in the arm in Europe thanks to the launch of the 80GB DS3 included console this week and what’s shaping up to be a very good Leipzig press conference - Sony being the only one of the big 3 console makers to show Leipzig/Europe any love this year - MS and Nintendo obviously don’t think Europe is worth the effort!
@PS3Owner :
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/perry-sony-has-no-chance-of-making-money-on-the-ps3
Take a look at this and then tell us that the GOD of all things is doing very very well! lack of games is killing sony, also pricing. it is a very nice machine at doing what it does best, play movies. I walk into a store and see nothing for the ps3 and a complete wall for xbox 360 games and also wii games. And this is the second year for the ps3, actually going into the 3rd. and all we hear is “wait” 2007 will be the year of the ps3, no 2008 will be, no wait, 2009 is going to be, sheesh. the ps3 will not beat microsoft this gen, the sales for xbox have slowed down because most people that wanted one already have one, now M$ needs to do what they are doing, go after the “casual” gamer and eat some of nintendo`s customers up, because they are also getting boared with the wii. by the time the ps3 starts to take over the 360 M$ will have introduced a new and way more advanced console ( It will happen you know, technology moves very fast, so if you think your ps3 will still hold up against the new versions of consoles you better think again) and it wont matter much then, thus M$ winning against sony.
@Johnson
yes, that is the reason i dont buy xbox’s, as soon as M$ realises their in shit because their console wont win that gen, they quickly rush out another console, wich just like the xbox 360, will be a big failure at launch, high sales, even higher failure rates of (in the xbox 360s case) over 50%!!
Sony makes quality products, and has never dissapointed me, neither has nintendo (their gamecube was a bit of a let down, but i dont have it)
i did not have the original xbox but i had an xbox 360 that broke with me 5 times within a year, then i got sick of it and got a ps3 (already had a wii)
and actually, now im comparing the 3, im surprised 360 got this far in the first place
Yawn.
@bart
I`m sorry to hear that your 360 was trash, but I and like 70% of other 360 owners have never experienced it. I actually bought a new 360 w/60g hdd and my son turned it on one night while i was out and he shut the cabinet doors, now most people would panic but i did not, I simply opened the door (it was shut for 2 hours) and it was just fine. the rrod will surely hit older consoles (i suppose) but that problem is over. as for ps3, it is a damn fine machine, sony are great at building products, but you can have the most reliable console in the world and still have junk! all the exclusives sony has with the exception of drakes fortune are crap, don`t beleive me, read up on `em. and everything sony had or has is now on 360, even final fantasy? all you could hear on the net was wait, ff is comming and it will destroy 360, oops! looks like it`s comming to 360? what now, all ps3 users now turn to other excuses. this is the trend, once something is lost you find more excuses to build on that haven`t even happened yet. I wouldnt put too much stock on home and killzone 2. gears of war 2 is comming out the same time as resistance 2, and i can gaurentee gears will outshine resistence! I had a ps3 for 1 year, it was a launch console and i give it a chance, but blu gay is way too expensive and heavenly sword and lair was crap! it just seems to continue… mgs4, lbp, home (i would rather play games then walk around and talk) killzone 2 (THIS IS A RICH ONE! KILLZONE 1 WAS THE WORST SHOOTER, HOW THE HELL CAN THEY HYPE THIS ONE SO MUCH? IT`S BEEN IN THE MAKING SINCE 2005 SONOFABICH!! it better be good!!!!) and all you hear is 2008 will be the year of ps3, no wait 2009 will be hahaha. the 360 got this far and would have gone farther if not for the rrod, because of the one and only reason GAMES!! you walk into gamestop and you have a wall of games for 360 and wii, and nothing for ps3, an employee told me they put the same game on an entire wall just to fill up space? the ps3 is now going into it`s 3rd year, ??? and you ps3 people think this is not an issue? xbox 360 has defeated the almighty playstation brand, and yes when the new console comes out you will want one two, i`m talking about the ps4, it`s comming the same time new 720 is, google it!