did it budge? It budged? Hey Everybody!- The 360 BUDGED!

King Seafoam

Whoa, I can actualy SEE the 360 wedge now.

Bricked

When I read the headline I thought WTF.... Then I saw the chart and it all went back to normal...

Aeryss

@RuneX21: Good call, my man. Rune FTW

xMindPrintsx

@NeoAkira:

Halo was ported to the PC too. Does that put it out of the equation?... Just saying of course...

Friction

@rianfrost: KOTOR and Morrowind were both available for the PC so they don't even count. The majority of the original Xbox's game sales were FPS's. The system rode on the success of one game (halo) and built another system around that (360). If you want proof of this look at the controller set up. Shitty ass d-pad (not needed for FPSs) but great joystick and overall button placement for such games.

So no, the impression that the original xbox was an FPS machine was spot on.

NeoAkira

@Quilt: that would be so totally cool and original.

thejakeman: visit my site!

@usfslacker: "Shoddy" or not, for $169, it's capable of quite a bit.

Wolfers

@wild homes is weathering cephalopod trouble!: you know, it wasnt even true back then, the original xbox had a good number of rpg's, all western, that sold very well on the system. fable, the kotor series, morrowind, even jade empire was a good game, though it sold poorly, so the impression that the xbox is now or was last gen just a fps machine is quite blatently false. Plus this gen the 360 has secured the mistwalker rpg's, eternal sonata long before the ps3 did, as well as some of the tales series, plus all the follow ups to their successful western rpg's of the past gen and i would say that they may well have a better rpg selection than their shooter selection when all is said and done.

rianfrost

@MyLittlePwny:

They keep predicting it because if it DOESN'T happen, then something is desperately wrong with this country. Why would a system be outselling its competition by over 10,000 units a month without a SINGLE game in the top 10 software sales. I mean, as much as it's improved as a game console, it's still a really shoddy multimedia device, has been since the iPod got video. So logically, if the GAMES aren't selling week-to-week, then the console shouldn't be selling better than the two platforms dominating 7 out of the top 10 software spots... right?

usfslacker

Doubles 360 sales to the point that they are now equal to over half of the PS2 sales! Woohoo!

Kenny

If Tales of Vesperia doesn't move the 360 in Japan I don't think anything will. Maybe they should start releasing Ero games on it or something.

Zhemos

if microsoft releases a limited edition non-simply-gundam-faceplate gundam 360, it would sell tons.

maraxusofk

You hear that Microsoft? You know those shitty games that get panned in the Western world? The ones based on licenses and given stunted development cycles with limited funding?

Yeah, Japan loves that shit. Give them more of that and you should be good to go.

Snake726

Its kind of mean spirited that kotaku keeps predicting/expecting/(secretly hoping...) Sony to lose the top spot. Whats with that? Since the PSP shot to the top its always followed by a "Stay tuned for next week when sony gets smashed"

Hasnt Nintendo pwned enough? Let sony have its day.

MyLittlePwny

Meh, reliability means nothing here in japan. Talk to any japanese person of business origin and ask about the sony timer. They all know of it, yet continue to buy sony products.(and sure enough, ive been through more sony products than every other game console maker out there combined and multiplied by 5. Not to mention TV's, my PS3 as of 2 days ago, and so much more.....) So reliability isnt all that important, rather its more of a name recognition thing I think, and little to do with nationality. Just people respect sony as a company for some reason here.

I dont really think you can point to any single reason, I mean the 360 has a far superior lineup here in japan.Anyone who says differantly obviously hasnt looked on the shelves lately here.(ill go take a photo of the shelves if I need more proof, its not even debatable) Even with the so called "japanese" mindset, the 360 has more and higher quality games for that view. So then you have reliability, but as i stated people gladly accept sony's issues here. So we have national pride but that also is minor as there are countless examples that prove otherwise, leaving freak occurance and what I stated above in namebrand. Asthetics maybe.....

For those wondering, the sony timer is the breaking of all sony products exactly 1 year after purchase. Every Japanese person ive talked with about it(and thats a lot, since I frequent bars here a lot and it comes up in conversation for some odd reason more often than not) knows of the timer. I would have put it off as false, but of the 2 japanese sony products ive bought in the last 2 years, both died within a month of the 1 year mark.(Bravia HDTV after 13 months, PS3 after 13 months) If I go back to the US, Ill be on my 11th PS unit overall, 4th digicam, 2nd walkman(long time ago),3rd PC , and 4th TV.

RuneX21

@kumuasata: Hooray! If you like it, send it in! Cake for everybody!

wild homes is weathering cephalopod trouble!

Hah, the 360 isn't even in the list of sales! Double zero is still zero I guess.

dowingba

I love how the PSP dominates that chart. The Japanese must be finding some use for the PSP that we aren't, because PSPs really aren't worth jack over here, save for maybe Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII.

Solertia

@Bokusatsu_Tenshi: I think you're partly right. I don't think that's the *only* reason for the 360's problems in Japan, but it is one reason. Reliability problems are just unacceptable in Japan. Remember when the original Xbox had disc scratching problems? It was national news in Japan. The system never recovered.

Now the RROD problems have only cemented Microsoft's reputation as just putting out shoddy products. And shoddy products just don't sell in Japan, at least not for premium prices. If somebody's going to pay *more* for a 360 than they would for a Wii, they expect better quality, not worse. The 360 is perceived as a lower quality machine at a higher price.

I think the lack of good games, the design of the system itself, and the marketing are all problems too. It's funny that it's pretty much all the same crap that doomed the first Xbox - they didn't learn a damn thing.

badasscat

PSP 58,861
Wii 48,480
DS Lite 48,884
PS3 17,973
PS2 7,673
Xbox 360 5,104

They missed the 360 figures.

Friction

@wild homes is weathering cephalopod trouble!:

Comment of the Week x.x

kumuasata

I dont even see the xbox numbers in the list above.Are their numbers so few?

PowerButton

There's a new Gundam game out?? Damn, is it 360-only? :( I don't see why any Japanese game based off of a major franchise like Gundam would limit itself to only the worst-selling console in all of Japan. :\

man in gauze is king ramses II, silly.

360 is making a big effort... with lots of good rpg titles, and stuff that was chiseled for the japanese market.
But they're gonna have a hard time.

I think the main problem with 360 to the japanese consumer isn't even game titles or whatever... it's all about reliability.

The reliability 360 lost because of RROD problems.

Even if they solved it 100%, it'll be long before Microsoft consoles recover their image. And I say Microsoft because the suspicion will still be there in the next generation, even if Microsoft don't screw up again.

Bokusatsu_Tenshi

@Leanid: I'm sick of everything that goes past four or five. I wish Madden would up and die. Theo nly football game I need (and ever will need) is ESPN NFL 2K5. Thank God for the superior (and Godly) ESPN NFL 2K5. I'm really convinced that most people who buy Madden (or any other Sports game year after year) aren't right in the head. Hell, EA removed some of the best features from 04 to 05 and from 05 to 06. They haven't even done jack to the graphics much. All they're basicaly paying is this:

$60 for a yearly roster update that would be much more effective as DLC instead of a stripped down version of last years game.

Amazon_Chris

@Ryūko: Not only Chrono Tigger...there is also the matter of DQ IX still waiting to come out. If those two games come out near each other...yeah the DS is going to rocket back to what it used to sell before for a while.

daknight

@NickyJ: That was true last generation, sure. But this generation, in addition to having a bevy of quality shooters, the 360's got some real depth in the RPG genre (compared to its two competitors at this point in time) and Microsoft have launched multiple specific RPG bundles, at significant discount, and the sales still won't pick up week over week. So the shooter reason doesn't hold water anymore.

wild homes is weathering cephalopod trouble!

@Quilt: See monster rancher

Neo-Senku

Really? Must not have sucked as much as that Dynasty Warriors Gundam.

sir_carrot

Microsoft should make a cartoon staring "Captain X-Box" which is about a kid who gets transported into a video-game world.

Quilt

@NoFunShogun:

That's odd.It was actually up there originally.

LittleBigPlaneteer

*ahem*

You guys forgot to put the 360 numbers in the post.

NoFunShogun

Xbox 360 5,104

I don't know why you didn't include it the post, McWhertor.

Lixie

@blackpanther25: What does the 360 offer Japan that they might want, or isn't already offered on a competing platform? All I got is: "that console that plays IM@S".

Leanid

So will we be seeing a DS sales boost similar to what the PSP has now when Chrono Trigger DS comes out?

Ryūko

@blackpanther25: Well the 360 is well known for its shooters and that's really not Japans thing.

NickyJ

The best part about this is that Operation Troy is an absolutely horrid Gundam game (as with most Gundam games). There's a demo up on Japanese Live (I guess most of you guys cant try it since it supposedly requires a Live Gold in that region to DL), and it's a respawn rape-fest with the federation side having a huge advantage thanks to insta-hit beam rifles. The product is even worse, with federation side getting the Gundam from the 08th MS series as its second MS, with speeds doubling (or more) that of the GM/Zaku1 and a high-damage beam rifle.

Friends who got it tell me it's an awesome game as long as it's a private match (to prevent ranked matchers going all out to respawn kill the other team once the tide turns over) though. I mean, the game might suck but it's still a 5on5 Gundam match that doesn't cost 500 yen per play and a few hours wait between each game (apparently that's how popular the arcade 4-16player gundam game Senjou no Kizuna is). Kinda pisses me off that I'm stuck at a job site and unable to pick up packages; if I could I'd have gotten the game myself to revel in the shittiness.

muu

@Amazon_Chris: Probably the same amount that Americans can stand Madden or "*sports* *year*" games. How many games do you think that'll be?

Leanid

@wild homes is weathering cephalopod trouble!: i really dont get why the 360 doesn't sell well in japan.

I used to think it because the 360 is made by "the White Man" instead of an Asian dude, but i concluded that thats just me thinking stupid

blackpanther25

good job microsoft good job, hey they been gettin crap for the past year.

ill tip my hat to that.

Dakobah

Microsoft should make their next console or color the 360 in red so that it will sell three times faster.

GranzonTotoro

At least the game finally fucking came out! Jesus, they've been delaying Operation Troy for at least two and a half years!

Corrin

@KM91: If by 4 you mean 404, then yes.

Does Not Equal

@KM91:

404*

____

@wild homes is weathering cephalopod trouble!:

So true ... LOL!

EnigmaNemesis

They really should just rebrand the thing the Xbox RX-78-2 locally. Can't hurt.

Zaku fans would beg to differ.

Bardiel18

Microsoft just needs to name their next system the Xbox Gundam and make it look like it's made out of cardboard. Then they'll start moving systems.

Luziphir

Looks like jamzy is working hard.

Gunloc

They're STILL making gundam games? How many Gundam games can Japan take before they go crazy?

Amazon_Chris

@(俗・ ) Grey Gecko: I'd say that Microsoft is just showing how much Nintendo or Sony is the boss, but who am I kidding; Tony Danza is still the boss.

nick.soapdish

XBox Gundam...that would sell like hot cakes!

DukeOfPwn

That is crazy. The Wii and DS came only within 4 sales of each other.

KM91

I know doubling is still a good thing, especially when Microsoft is struggling so much in Japan, but double of one is two, and that's basically how impressive this jump is in sales. At this point they are just racing against themselves, because the other guys have lapped them and then some.

I'm actually still surprised at how the PSP is performing. I honestly believed it had served its usefulness ages ago, but it really jumped up and continues to hang at the top of the charts in Japan.

nick.soapdish

Looking at these charts every week makes you wonder why isn't everybody in Japan an owner of all freaking consoles. I never thought video games could sell so much.

IntelSilver

Kudos, Microsoft. Now all you need to do to build on this and conquer Japan is...

Hm...

Make the system less black, more white, like an Apple product, no...

Court more Japanese developers, especially RPG makers... ok, that didn't work...

Wait...

Oh, who am I kidding. The Japanese hate this device like it's going to come into their homes and eat their children. If Monster Hunter Portable: The Home Version was released exclusively for the 360, the Japanese would decide overnight they hate Monster Hunter with a passion. There's really nothing you can do, Microsoft. It's like Charlie Brown and that one girl. She'll take your chocolates and break your heart.

wild homes is weathering cephalopod trouble!

Good for the 360, I think?

Jedi924

Go 360! Show them who is the boss!

(俗・ ) Grey Gecko

@Irafe: he probably ate some bad ghosts

featherblade360

@LORDofDANCE: Ps2 seems to want to join the party.

bangbangblah

They really should just rebrand the thing the Xbox RX-78-2 locally. Can't hurt.

It'd hurt the Zaku fanboys!

Bardiel18

Looks like Pacman took acid and started vomiting rainbows.

Irafe

Y...ay?

Jechticknight

That sliver still looks so small and lonely. :(

LORDofDANCE