Microsoft to launch Xbox 360 Arcade in Japan
- February 04, 2008 09:24 AM PST
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After finishing dead last in recent Japanese console sales, not to mention ongoing lackluster appeal, Microsoft on Monday announced that it would release the cheaper Xbox 360 Arcade in the country to boost sales.
Xbox 360 Arcade to launch in Japan
The Xbox 360 Arcade, released last year in North America, will go on sale in Japan on March 6 and carry a MSRP of 27,800 yen ($260). The current Xbox 360 model costs 34,800 yen, or $325.
According to the Associated French Press, "The Xbox has been a flop in Japan, home of video game rivals Sony and Nintendo which together have a stranglehold on their main market. Some critics fault fast-paced, violent Xbox games with being out of touch with Japanese tastes."
Last week, the Xbox 360 finished a distant sixth place in weekly numbers released by Media Create, a company that monitors Japanese hardware sales. The Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, Wii, PS3, and even the seven-year-old PS2 handily outsold the American-made system in that order.
Furthermore, not a single Xbox 360 title was able to crack into the top 50 games in the territory.
Japan is seen as an important video game market, the second largest in the world behind the U.S. Despite its struggles abroad, the Xbox 360 is the most widely purchased home console in America to date, helping Microsoft's game division become profitable for the second time this past quarter.
