Hot damn! Indeed Hell has frozen over if this happend.

kyon-kyon

@Placentasaurus: "Do they really like excessively generic RPG's that much?" Yes, they especially love Dragon Quest from my understanding. So much that sometimes schools and maybe workplaces close for the day cause they know people won't go cause they're too busy playing it.

Soriya

Good job Microsoft.

ZetaCrossfire

I have to change my thinking now. I thought the Japanese wouldn't buy 360's under any circumstances.
...And yeah, whats with the baby blue controller?

RonJeremy4Pres

@jigglypoofs: I sure as hell didnt see this coming :) M$ now knows that if the games are there that Japanese people like, they will buy. Lesson learned. Good Job M$.

R3load

I must say, when I went to Japan in March, the Xbox 360 section of the game store was sad. A little corner on the Playstation floor (both PS2 and PS3). And that store had 2 floors of erotic games. Just like Monster Hunter sold PSPs off the shelves, ToV is selling 360s.

It's great that Microsoft realizes that no one in Japan is interested in US games: they're interested in Japanese games. I also wonder if the FFXIII announcement had anything to do with it. /ponders....

Benjammn

@SamStride: Huh, this makes no sense. You speak as if somehow FF13 is not coming out on the PS3 when it is. The fact that its not exclusive in Japan only means that people will still not buy the Xbox360 because its on the PS3. And Gears well...I enjoyed the first, I really did but if you think that dianabol injected, 2-dimensional, intergalactic slugfest is gonna win new fans you are on another planet. But hey I am happy to see new units moving in Japan, but guess what, Microsoft will make nothing of it. I remember the first Xbox and DOA Beach Volleyball, big game in Japan which moved loads of units. But hey the fans saw it, bought it, played it, then went back to the PS2, MS has a good history of colossal clusterf**ks when given golden opportunities.

TotaleeAwesome

For Tales of Vesperia, really? The demo was alright, but Lost Odyssey and Eternal Sonata were A LOT better. Hell, I'd even go as far to say that Blue Dragon is a better game than Tales of Vesperia. The only thing I liked to a degree was the combat system.

HaydenTenno

Looks like they're pulling a Wii with fake shortages to hype it up.

KirbyMorph

@That Boy Baked:

Give this man a cookie. You can't have it both ways. Either ridicule Microsoft for thinking they had a chance in Japan or ridicule them for underestimating that chance. If you do both, you just look retarded.

Baboon

Awesome, JRPGS rule Japan's market. Thus, the increase in 360 popularity.

Tr4iLbLaz3r

Is Tales of Vesperia really that good? I played the demo and found it to be hilariously generic. I mean, I know the Tales games are a little goofy, I played Symphonia (and liked it, though I only had a GCN at the time), but I don't think they meant it to be that bad (or good?). Seriously, the token annoying kid character's name was Karol. And the token guy-with-a-girl's-head character's name was Yuri, which means lily, or lesbian in Japanese, if I'm not mistaken. Also, I didn't like the graphics (mostly looked like an up-rezzed PS2 game) or combat. There's more, but I'm too lazy too make fun of it now. What I'm trying to say here is do the Japanese really like Tales that much that they'll buy a console just for it? Do they really like excessively generic RPG's that much? Then again, Americans like excessively generic FPS's and re-buy the same sports games every year, so I guess it's not that different.

/end rambling

Placentasaurus

People complain and bash on Microsoft about how shitty they do in Japan, then all of a sudden they are facing a massive sales spike which they obviously did not anticipate and people still complain and bash about how stupid they are in Japan.

I think they know they need to get more consoles in production now people, we don't need your strategic commentary on what MS needs to do, when they know what the fuck they need to do. Congrats MS for breaking some ground in the land of the rising sun, even if its temporary.

That Boy Baked

talk about poor management and foresight. Every one saw this coming with verspia releasing. They should have prepared.

jigglypoofs

I'm blinking and no matter how many times I do it, I still see the same SOLD OUT moniker.

Anarchist_Gamer

wy t g. prl fl's s bt wys wy dn't y thnk? y gys gnn clm tht fnl fntsy X s fr th pc gn?

Xtreme_Hindu_Cow

Japan....sold out of....Xbox 360s?

Do you feel that cold chill? Yeah, that's hell, frozen over.

Karisu-Zero

@subterfunk: Oh... I think I'm in deep like with you <3

okenny :) ...building bridges (to hide under)

Ahhh... nothing to worry about, after the gamers beat Tales of Vesperia they'll just sell back the 360's and buy it back again once other exclusives comes out, like Infinite Undiscovery and Star Ocean 4.

Trowble (XBL/PSN)

strange, I saw 4 in a local store today and a fair few more at sofmap...

gique

@hellodon: Tales Of Vesperia.

wild homes loves you but chooses darkness!

this is what happens when final fantasy goes multi platform and theres not a single ps3 game in sight that can match the awesomeness of gears? HEADSHOT!!!

SamStride

Nice to see Microsoft making some strong sales in Japan, but no one had the forethought, with all the work they've put into Japanese-friendly software partnerships this year, to a least divert some consoles from other territories to Japan just in case their moves paid off? They work hard to get Last Remnant, Tales, Star Ocean IV, XIII, and Infinite Undiscovery on the 360 and then don't adequately prepare for the possibility these plans could work? That's a little strange. Usually I don't plan on my strategies failing-- I understand the possibility, but I don't take a course of action unless I believe it will work. Apparently I've been doing it wrong.

wild homes loves you but chooses darkness!

*Scooby Doo voice* Ruh-roh!

Really, does this hurt the 360? No. Does it help? No.

It only helps the 360 at the moment, but once ToV hype dies down, it wont sell s***.

Teh_Volz

So What happened? I thought Japan didnt really care about the 360? Did something come out that brought on major interest like this?

hellodon

Oh God. Oh GOD!

Satan is watching my fish this week: He cannot survive in cold temperatures!!

I am coming Admiral Splash! Hold on!

Baboon

@subterfunk: wow. really sorry... should have ended with Japanese gamer #2... i don't know what happened... please forgive me

subterfunk

@Interstella5555: i think he was saying he was the first to expect this to happen, not "first!"

3inst3in

lol nice. they finally sold all their launch units.

Scott3D

@DontTouchMyDaughterYouFilthyGaijin: Not true, the japanese pefer the PS3 as there next gen console of choice, its just there aren't any Jrpgs on the system O.o

ryivanV2

Umm...is there a cold front sweeping through hell right now?

The_Game21x

Japanese gamer #1: Why the F would you buy an Xbox... it has no good games...

Japanese gamer #2: 3 words buddy, Tales of Vesperia.

-

American gamer #1: Why the F would you buy a PS3... it has no good games...

American gamer #2: 3 words buddy, Final Fantasy XIII

American gamer #3: I have both ps3 and xbox lol

American gamer #4: FFXIII is coming out on Xbox now

Japanese gamer #1 (via brand new xbox live account): Pwnd!

subterfunk

I would be really, really pissed if I was Namco. Develop a good game, one that actually gets a fair amount of excitment going for it on a console that isn't doing well in Japan. And after two weeks of great software sales, there's no longer the hardware on sale that will run it. Lovely. By the time the hardware becomes available again the initial hype will have died down for the title.

XsTatiC

@Indy_aka_Rex: Same thing was said about PS3's worldwide numbers, but you'd be amazed at how much a steady gain can do... Honestly... Microsoft finally found their groove in Japan. That may change, but it would take some great announcements for Sony at TGS, because nothing Nintendo does will change it... They just have their steady income of ubercash.

@Frank: Hey, I'm a huge Sony fanboy, but I think their chances in Japan are dead at the moment. They really need to work hard to resuscitate their Japanese sales. I knew MGS4 wasn't going to do it, maybe FFXIII still will, since it's exclusive in Japan.

bobtheduck

@Silent Predator: damn, i missed this one. well played, sir........well played......

jfx316

@Ryuk: That made me chuckle.

XeroKool

who would have thought selling 14 360s would have made the news.

jokes. these are jokes, people.......

jfx316

@Ad-hominem:

There's a huge difference between Blue Dragon and Tales of Vesperia though. I wouldn't consider Blue Dragon a system seller, even if Microsoft hoped it would be. Tales on the other hand is an established franchise over there, and was pretty much guaranteed to sell consoles on whichever platform it showed up on.

I'd have to say their expectations would have to be completely differnt between this release and that of Blue Dragon. If it isn't then they truly don't understand the Japanese market.

LittleBigPlaneteer

Sony should have been flooding the console with JRPG's but meh.. You gotta dish out money for that exclusivity sometime. I would say right now, that MS has a better chance of infiltrating the japanese market with jrpg's than sony does with FPS's. jrpg's seem sort of non-existent lately, or just havent been worth playing. Either way, the console the game comes out for will be the one to make sales.

Grandreaper999

Is that a baby blue xbox controller?

Jonpaulk

@Indy_aka_Rex: Yeah but nobody is buying PS3s in Japan either, so that doesn't say much. PSP is Sony's future in Japan. Hell, trends point towards the Japanese being sick of home consoles anyways so whoever gets their next handheld out first will own Japan.

DontTouchMyDaughterYouFilthyGaijin

Hopefully they don't ramp up production and this thing ends and they're stuck until the next thing that grabs the Japanese fancy on Xbox comes out. Seriously though, of the consoles that are sold out, how many were there in stock, ti wouldn't have been much would it? The supply couldn't have been much and by this time next month the whole thing will have passed.

Makidian

Microsoft sell out all Xbox 360 consoles in Japan... Ha!! When pigs fly!

Wait, What?!?!... Japan is TOTALLY sold out of Xbox 360s....

In other news, please look out for flying pigs!

King of Kings

Good job with the exclusive. Now you need to whisper into Squaresofts ears and say ... "so, about FFXIII in Japan?"

lol

~soul

Black_Ops_19

@LittleBigPlaneteer: They get, on average, less than 4k sales a week. For the most recent three weeks, they managed to barely pass 5-6k.
When Blue Dragon, their last "System Seller" came out, it sold like 20k the first week, and then returned back to the 2k a week (at the time) average.
So they probably weren't expecting much. Definitely not anywhere near 50k.
@feitclub: That's idiotic. Of course they're not including second-hand consoles. They're counting the ones they're making money on.
@Captain Impulse: Yes. Are you trying to cover it up?

Ad-hominem

@DontTouchMyDaughterYouFilthyGaijin:

Yeah, so for three months out of a 12 month year, 360 might do decent business in Japan. Then again back to mediocrity for the rest of its JP lifespan.

Indy_aka_Rex

@Captain Impulse:

Hey I was trying to give Microsoft more credit here. Were they really not expecting sales to gain major momenutum with the release of Tales of Vesperia? It's just hard to imagine that 360 have sold out in ALL of Japan.

Since they're apparently not restocking till Setpember, does that mean the sales numbers for the 360 wil be extremely low for the rest of August? I mean they're TOTALLY sold out no?

LittleBigPlaneteer

Microsoft probably hasn't manufactured a 360 in Japan in a very long time, so when they got the news that they were all gone, they probably laughed and continued the drunk conga line down the assembly belt in the hardware factory.

Ryuk

@Captain Impulse: Because of course it couldn't be possible that the XBox360, which hasn't been known for it's Japanese adoration or fan-base, could have suddenly gotten a larger demand then was expected from a country that has, typically, been more interested in other consoles. I mean, if it's Microsoft is must be a conspiracy to make money.

/sarcasm

Jayl3w

The key to selling 360s in Japan: Have a game the Japanese really want to play. It's not that amazing considering how simple the cause is, but it's still nice to see Microsoft making inroads. Of course, to what extent does that mean American game developers can make inroads is a slightly different story.

Turambar

This might not be a flash in the pan. Remember Infinite Undiscovery comes out next month and Last Remnant in Novemeber. Could be really really bad for Sony.

DontTouchMyDaughterYouFilthyGaijin

Which is cleary an anomaly. Within a month or twos' time (after they've played two ToD completely), it'll be back to it's standard sells over there. Unless of course, Infinite Undiscovery turns heads.

beem

This is about the last thing I would've expected to happen.

Actaeus

How bizarre! It's exciting to see 360 do well (even if for a short while) in Japan.

Such a bizarre time with the two big systems both doing well in various markets.

sascha23

@LittleBigPlaneteer: @ckleow: @Braham: Must everything be a conspiracy?

Captain Impulse

By "sold out nationwide," I can't believe they're including the thriving second-hand market in Tokyo, Osaka, and on the Internet. Does that mean those prices might suddenly increase?

feitclub

@Ad-hominem:

Why would their expectations be 15 - 25K for the month? They get around 20K in regular weeks. Considering Tales was released, they had to be expecting a lot more sales. If they say otherwise they're lying.

I also find this outage a bit suspect. It's just surprising that there wouldn't be more than 15K in all of Japan. Did Microsoft themselves truly not understand that Tales would make a difference for them over there?

LittleBigPlaneteer

Ashcraft good news from the frontlines ;)

as a 360 champ i knew it was only a matter of time - obv. the Jap. people have to keep it real and stick to the home grown, but its not an exaggeration to say that M$ has DEF. done their homework and they are now seeing the fruits of their labor. hats off to you, you mega mill. freaks, keep it up!!!!

F22

why r ll th px nw n gf?!

cantbeatmegaman

Wow they must have sold all 50,000. So impressive. Nah, its good to see them make a little headway into the japanese market. Though their total lack of preparation killed off any impulse buyers they would have had. A sloppy move if ya ask me. Think what they could have sold if they actually had stock!

Can't wait to see the numbers.

Flowen

Damn You!!! How am I going to get my Idolm@ster on then?!?!

Ragarnok

In b4 the fantrolls come in saying it's finally the beginning of the end for the PS3 in Japan.

Frank

fake shortage???

ckleow

Hopefully this doesn't result in thousands of 360s sitting on shelves for months because of a sharp decline in sales after everyone gets their Tales fix. If the release of other exclusive RPGs like Last Remnant (or is it Infinite Undiscovery? I always get the two confused) are timed properly, they may be able to keep up this sales increase.

Mit

@GiantEnemyCrab:

Not likely, MS is still about a million or more behind Sony... and at 100k a month, it'd still take them a while to reach PS3 numbers.

Indy_aka_Rex

Perfect!

They finally get a system-seller and they have no systems to sell!

Total genius!

elpierce

Hell Froze last week, so I guess it thawed out and started to freeze up again

Scrapple

Well, it looks awesome in the fact that Microsoft managed to sell out nationwide.
Then, you realize their expectations were, what? 15k-25k max for the month.
Managing to double your expectations doesn't mean anything when your expectations were shit.

It'd be like if the N-Gage suddenly sold 100x what expectations were. Sure, it'd be impressive in theory, but 100 sold N-Gage's ain't going to impress nobody.

Ad-hominem

It's good to see an American console sell out in Japan, even if it is for the first time ever.

I bet the reason they're sold out is because Microsoft doesn't ship that many 360s there in the first place... caught them off guard a bit I think.

DigiMish

@rifa: Isn't this a banable offense? Or at least a disemvoweling?

Anyway, it does seem to me that at a certain point you'll hit a critical mass with consoles in a given country; people aren't going to start buying another Wii.

Interstella5555

Whoa, hope something else can come out in time to carry Microsoft through the holiday season and keep up the momentum... Or they'll probably be back to how it was before this release. Come on Microsoft! This is your big chance to shine!

art_zombie

So does this mean MS has finally sold the first shipment of 360's to Japan. Next shipment due 2010 with the 720?

manlydeadguy

Hopefully this can have a residual domino effect. Japanese developers can see this console has a firm standing and that the games geared toward the Japanese market can payoff. In this end this is great news. I much rather see them be sold out of Xbox's in the entire country than see it have a luke warm burst to sales.

Stevetrop

I call shenanigans... fake wii shortage ho!

Braham

Hmmm, is it me or is hell a wee bit cold this month?

dirkxxdiggler

no more xbox 360 and it's the end, trying to psyche, psyche, psyche you out. : P

zkotaku

How hard is it to sell 10 consoles?

I kid, I kid.

Silent Predator

Microsoft is copying Nintendo's strategy! Make it not available and people will want it more!

Ed_209

There its 360's but not the vesperia bundle pack.....

Gray_F0x

@Tuggie: Maybe, I don't know how hardcore fans are about Tales or how much traction Infinite Undiscovery will have in the future but not having stock certainly kills the impulse buyers dead.

zoesch

Not so much

rifa

Who'd have though that would happen? Ooooh I am first !

rifa

Nice to see M$ starting to see the light.

ez054098

This is really good news for Microsoft. Maybe they could have shot in Japan..? At least now they know what is needed to be successful in Japan.

GiantEnemyCrab

neat

Banjo-Paste

could that hurt the momentum of the 360 right now?

Tuggie

Well done, Microsoft, well done.

I'm kind of glad to see that they're stepping up in their sales of the 360 in Japan.

Thrazor

Exclusive JRPGs are serious business.

Wolfers

@gique:

It's microsoft that's sold out, not every retailer everywhere in Japan. What that means is they have no more in their warehouse to restock any retailers that have sold out. You may still be able to find some in stores for a while.

HackJenkins

Now square is just stupid not to release FFXIII in Japan with the 360 base slowly buidling up. Infinite undiscovery should do lots now with a bigger base. I also think I blue Dragon rerelease would do better now it would be interestign to see

darktoad450

I bet the only reason they're sold out is because they needed to make space for the 60gb SKU.
@kidhero1000:
And the point of copying the article and using it as a comment is...?

dgonchild

Cross-referencing with some console sales articles, xbox360 sold 25k consoles in the WEEK of Aug 4-10, brought on by the Aug 7 release of Tales of Vesperia. It outsold PS3 (9k) but Wii is still on top (38k). Keyword here is WEEK. if they were hoping 20k per month normally, this would definitely put a drain on console supplies especially having low expectations in a region completely dominated by wii and ps3.

aboganza

Hmm. Why is this so poorly managed. The sales have been rising for weeks and their biggest release of this year by far and they ship any units. Is it truly possible that they dropped the ball and not have shipped units for weeks?

It hasn't sold 100k total in the past two months. Surely, MS should have been prepared to supply their retailers.

Hell, Nintendo has practically met demand for the Wii in Japan. (they are selling bounds above PS3/360 but Nintendo has enough units at retailers to meet demand)

outlawauron

emember when we thought the Xbox 360 was sold out at one Japanese store? That's not all. It's sold out across the whole damn country. Like, sold out sold out. It's so sold out that Microsoft Japan actually put out an official statement about the situation in The Land of the Rising Sun, apologizing for the lack of consoles. Since demand has eclipsed supply, Microsoft's supply has gone totally dry. The company is ramping up production, and the console will not be shipped to stores until next month.

We've translated the full statement after the jump.

To all customers

We truly thank you for all your patronage in the past.

Currently, the Xbox 360 is sold out, and retailers are unable to restock their supply. This is a result of our own sales targets being exceeded by the actual customer sales. We deeply apologize for this inconvenience to our customers, retailers and business partners.

Here at Microsoft, we are moving forward quickly with console production, and plan to ship the standard Xbox 360 model out this September. Furthermore, we will sequentially be shipping out the Elite and the Arcade models. We ask that you please patiently wait until the console is shipped.

We truly thank you for your patronage hereafter.

Microsoft
Home and Entertainment HQ

kidhero1000

@Placentasaurus: Yeah man, cause a character's name is totally an indication of how great a game is. Oh man ur name means lesbian in Japanese lololol that totally isn't a real name or anything.

Get over it. Your loss.

Ueziel

Is the sky falling or something? *looks outside*

MattB

@Benjammn:
Sweeping generalizations, much?

While I'm not here to poo poo on any parades, I would think that the retailer would have only a small stock because of the 360's popularity. If no one is going to buy Pepsi Blue Hawaii, why stock much of Pepsi Blue Hawaii? It'd be pretty easy to run out of Pepsi Blue Hawaii.
That being said, I do acknowledge that the 360 is accelerating in Japan and that's great news for everyone. Well, Microsoft and maybe consumers. Japanese game developers will see that 360 having a bigger market share and might start making games for it and some of those games might even make it over the ocean to us [America] (and then over another ocean to EU and such). This might even pressure Sony into looking into price cuts (so I can buy a loving PS3, drat it!).

Channing

@Ad-hominem:

You mean they sold more than 100 N-Gages?

News to me.

On-topic:

Like everyone else said; the effort MS put into acquiring some respectable JRPG franchises has finally started to pay off. This may be the beginning of the end of MS console woes in Japan. (Insert other stuff people already stated here.)

Thumbs Up!

CarbonFalcon

A lot of people antagonize Microsoft's console. They're doing great for a change and that's good. If you wonder why they're doing so great in Japan? Just take a look at the Japanese site of Xbox 360. There are a lot of good titles coming out for Japan and will most likely be Japan only Exclusives. A lot of Japanese games never make it to Western shores mind you and most people from the west don't know this. Heck did a Haruhi game EVER come out for the PS2 on western shores? Well, it HAS in Japan. Case and point, Xbox 360 Japan has a good and awesome lineup of good JRPGs most never heard of in the west.

mixtech

I also now remember another thing about Japan: they have ridiculous disposable incomes. Several Pradas/Guccis in both Kyoto and Tokyo, every expensive car brand imaginable etc etc. So I can see a Japanese guy drop 40000 yen for a 360. I mean, most own a DS (enough in the country for 3 x the population), PSP, PS3, and Wii.

Benjammn

I just laugh my ass off seeing the haters! Fanboys are just pitiful, really.

Good job MS. You´ve done your homework in a very good way.

Competition is good for every market.

lucasreis

Japan loves 'limited' stuff. I say MS is holding back. Free press and hype will drive up interest. We'll have to see what happens but I'm thinking well played move by MS.

Denver80203

@darktoad450:

It'll be released in Japan eventually, I'm sure of it. It just won't be the same time as the PS3 launch.

LittleBigPlaneteer

Wow, even Microsoft wasn't expecting to ever sell that many consoles.

Quicksilver4648

@ryivanV2: That's the thing though, NOBODY in Japan cares about console gaming anymore. Hell, the Arcade industry is healthier than console gaming is at the moment in the Nippon. Ever since the DS came out the Japanese gaming taste has been shifting away from home consoles and more towards portable gaming.

Of course the Wii is still strong in Japan, and after the launch of Monster Hunter 3 expect Wii sales to SKYROCKET.

DontTouchMyDaughterYouFilthyGaijin

Goddamn. I hope this doesn't hurt sales.

Does Not Equal (ダズノット)

500 360s coming right up!

VakeroRokero

I do not know about what you mean with Sold out across the whole damn country but you can still buy it in Tokyo Ginza Bic Camera. Checked on my way to gym today and they had stock.

Aeryss

Nice to see that MS hasn't completely abandoned the Japanese market.

balls187 upside yo head

THE END IS NEAR!

TheRealLameDuck

Have those consoles have been sitting on the shelves for the last 2 years? Japan? Stare deep into the abyss that is the RRoD!!!!

Sorry couldn't resist. I love my 360.

Norrin_Radd

I don't understand how Tales of Vesparia could move Xbox 360 sales this much. I'm an avid JRPG fan and I played the Tales demo, and I don't see anything that really stands out from the rest. I even think it's a step down from Eternal Sonata which was released a year earlier.

Veridis_Quo

@dirkxxdiggler:

I was just thinking the same thing.

.em.

@Silent Predator: This time they're bringing the Elite and Arcade model. One of each. Should sell out in another year or so.

franklinjfresh

did hell freeze over? or has the everlasting snowball taken a vacation there?

otis123

@Shijirou: you know, kinda. it has great western rpg's AND good jrpg's, im quite please.

rianfrost

hey guys, i was walking outside today, and a pig flew right into me...it hurt.

rianfrost

This is a day that Microsoft will never forget. The day they actually realized, "We won the Japanese over!"

UCB-Disco

@Tuggie:

Not really Tales is barely in the top 20 for the week, and it's about to drop off into the dead zone. It's the first 360 title not to fall out of the top 20 by week 2 if that holds, so it's not a bad thing. Microsoft wouldn't have sold many more consoles at that rate. Tales is reportedly projected to do 23K, so if you go by last week that leaves 360 sales at their normal levels -- now with the low stock it may be even lower than normal. Win some, lose some I guess.

I want to compare the sales when the PS3 exclusive Tales title ship for Wii and PS3. The 360 is a footnote compared to that data.

Mongoosekun

that damn game is hard. i tried the demo.. no thank you. i'll stick to shooters and adventure games. i just bought my xbox 360(yeah), but sold my wii and ps2 for it(yeah?). i have absolutly no regrets. i just need some new games

dipsetboy17

So it seems the 360 is now becoming the RPG console of choice.

Shijirou

The end is

Ryuk

microsoft divided by zero, hell hath froze over, etc.

roflwaffles

@dipsetboy17: The demo is a LOT harder than the actual game, btw. The developers just upped the difficulty for the demo version. In the real game, you'll be able to level your characters and have more of a chance than that, lol.

willparry79

"Japan Is TOTALLY Sold Out of Xbox 360s"

This is not true. I live in Tokyo and I saw some of 360s at a local store yesterday. Seriously, how can there be a shortage? 360 can only sell 24,000 when a very popular JRPG got released on it. And it still can't outsell Wii even a week. This is the best Microsoft can achieve? That's pitiful.

Tomato

@Jonpaulk: Why yes it is, only available in Japan, unless you have a local store that imports :) I picked up one a few months ago at play n trade, and it is awesome.

And let this be a lesson to you all: The Namco Tales series kicks ass, and is never EVER to be underestimated by those who haven't experienced its true wonder. I think this is the sole reason for these shenanigans happening in Japan, and I'm fully confident that this is no conspiracy by microsoft. The tales series is the third most popular RPG series in Japan, and rightfully so.

willparry79

They have Xboxs in smaller towns and smaller prefectures like Yamaguchi. Just sitting there on a shelf if anyone is looking for one. I assume as always this "nationwide" applies more to Osaka, Tokyo, etc.

Kinketsu

Sales haven't increased very much when you look at the totals. This is more of a lack of supply then overwhelming demand. MS and "the shortages!!"

jacksons98

This is surprising, wonderful and unfortunate all at the same time.

Surprising: The 360 selling out in the whole country.

Wonderful: Demand is finally high in Japan. Duh! And if Wii sellouts are any indication, sometime the best thing for hype is when people can't get what they want.

Unfortunate: Whenever you have demand that outstrips supply, you risk losing a sale. Especially if your competitors have a chance to swoop in.

DARTH_TIGRIS

IS THAT A BABY BLUE HOLOGRAPHIC XBOX 360 CONTROLLER? Why does Japan always get the best tech first? I'm moving.

(r)evolution

Good news for Microsoft but time is of the essence. People might start to lose interest by the time new 360s arrive. Although like some people mentioned, the shortage may be due to them bringing in the 60GB SKU.

Tenchuu

@Channing:

For the record, pepsi blue hawaii is great, I buy atleast 4 bottles everytime I see it in a convini just because its become rare.

Tales of Vesperia is also very good, I wouldnt call it generic at all since its quite deep in terms of plot, and the battle system after you get to about 25-30 hours in extremely complex and fun. Ive beaten it and logged in nearly 130 hours as of now into the title and thats just my first run through. Still have loads of side quests and items to do as well.

It makes me very happy to see the 360 selling well here due to a quality game. Shows that I can still have faith in the people's game selection choices as opposed to nations where games like sonic and mario olympics drive sales through the roof.....(im looking at you UK)

RuneX21

with results like this M$ is probably going to start buying more exclusives for JRPG games

Fstrike

Sold out xbox is sold out!

GimmeCat

There must be quite a few people still that can't find systems and are looking for one to play ToV on. At the same time, there's probably people that decided to wait on buying a new copy of the game, harming sales somewhat.

All that's probably made up for though... ToV is being pushed around in many places as 'the game that helped Japan sell out 360s.' I thought Infinite Undiscovery was going to kick Tales' ass in sales, but provided reviewers concur with the happy Japanese henchmen playing this game I can see sales rivaling, or perhaps exceeding, that of Lost Odyssey and the like.

muu

@Wolfers: Then how come Lost Odyssey didn't sell more 360's in Japan?

sandal-hat17

It had to pay off one day. They have an assload of exclusives, timed or otherwise!

Swift_

There are no words... there is just awe. (Hell froze over?)

Rctdaemon

Well, it's definitely a *surprise* to see 360 outselling...well, *anything*...in Japan...

jasongw

hell frozen

eilegz

I don't get it.. Halo 3 has been out for almost a year and they just now start selling 360s?

I kid. MS is finally sporting some games that appeal to the Japanese market with Tales and the other upcoming JRPGs. With a general lack of those games coming to next-gens currently, now was the time for MS to strike while the proverbial iron was hot.

guitarzan2k5

Do you hear that?, that is condensation slowly forming in the bowels of hell.

PsycheE

@Ryuk: Near/Mello arc of Death Note was when Death Note got boring.

Kuro

Maybe they're talking about the ToV 360 set. Cuz Yamada's has plenty of 360's still in stock near my house :P

Kuro

so then, does it mean next weeks sales chart for xbox 360 will say 0 sold? if there really are none left....

kenesu96

You knew shit like this was bound to happen after the announcement tha t Chinese Democracy was likely ready to be released at Summer's end.

Stock up on your ammunition and canned food, kiddies. The end is nigh.

danzigeevil

They're losing a lot of money and steam with the 360 shortage. The longer they wait to release more, the more likely people aren't willing to buy it anymore. Although, with the incoming flux of JRPGs, people will come back to pick up a 360 when they're released.

Akuma147

That's easy math - MS worked hard at getting exclusive JRPG's, while Sony just hopes that the "PS2 fanbase" will buy their 5kg weighting brick anyway even if they flop with all release dates and promises.

Zorba

*grumble* i might have to actually buy one of these damn things now. why can't square do like its always done and release this stuff for ps? assholes. i dont even mind if its for both, its just that i've already bought a ps3, and i like it!

SolidSnake1118

This really seems like nonsense, my girlfriend was just at a few shops in Kokura, Kitakyushu looking for presents and there were Xbox 360s in all of them. Isn't this like me saying Japan is sold out of Early Times whiskey because my 7 11 didn't have any last week when I went in? Thanks for your patronage! It's an easy way to get a story onto the Western media, but it's not...you know...true.

Kinketsu

lol I would laugh if Microsoft becomes the next Wii in Japan....

SpearXXI

Geez, MS finally catches a break, and then they BLOW IT.

Knoxximus (360/PSN)

now maybe they'll develop sexy hentai games for my sexbox!

if_deez

Wow Tales of Vesperia is like the Halo 3 for Japan. But this time the game is actually pretty good.

shrek187

Wow, I can't believe how crazy some Japanese people are over Tales of Vesperia. I mean, I too am a huge fan of the Tales-series, but still...is it really THAT great to immediantly buy an expensive console all of a sudden? Oh well, let them do what they want, I guess. Good for the Xbox 360 anyway! Maybe more RPGs will come out on that console now after the delevopers see those sales. Even more! That's great news.

Rutt

This has got to be a total disaster for MS Japan; they can't afford demand to outstrip their supply like Nintendo. They really should have anticipated the extra sales and had contingencies in place - absolutely ridiculous for such a big company. Someone, somewhere, messed up BIG.

Gun. Bullet. Shot. Foot. Ouch.

midnightz

Come on Microsoft, show us some honesty. We know your really thinking something like:

"HAH! Take that you dammed J-otaku's! Go stick up for that Sony things and N stuff and come crying back to us when we're dying yeah? SCREW THAT! ANNOUNCE 360 PRICE RISE!"

Ultrasinc

Xbox360 sold out in Japan? Holy sh*t they sold all of the ten consoles that were currently on sale!?!

On a more serious note, I don't get see how the Tales series could have done such a push, I don't see it as that good of a game, the series has a huge lack of innovation and creativity, both gameplay and story wise, when you go from one game to the next one. Well I guess it is all a matter of taste...

Meeeh

I want to see this game, now. If it has the ability to sell 360s like this in Japan, it must be damn good!

psychobaka

Time to start repackaging American 360s and sell them over there!

Furysetzer

Tis a pity they are not at the Leipzig Games Convention as it seems that Microsoft does not really care about the European region. Which I think is more important than Japan and Asia in terms of potential earnings for them. And it is a region where they are falling behind more an more, even with their 2 year lead.

CartBlanche2

@CartBlanche2: That's because the Europeans foolishly support the PS3 even though Sony indirectly pointed out countless times that they don't give a shit about the region.

garytek

God why did it take so long for them to realize? Oh well. Better late than never. Here's hoping they keep spewing out RPGs.

garytek

@kyon-kyon: It's worse than hell freezing over--IT'S THE END OF THE WORLD! RUN! HIDE!

Under the bed, dummy. Not under the living room couch.

Chilly Hollow

Monster Hunter 360 --> Instant super-sellout for Xbox in Japan. ;)

Lyner

Blue Dragon: No
Lost Odyssey: No
Eternal Sonata: No
Tales of Vesperia: SUCCESS!

If you throw enough purchased-exclusive JRPG's at the wall, at least one of them is bound to stick.

Essonse

The fear now is they over produce for the next month and have tons sitting on the shelf. Lets hope the new Square Enix RPG's get the same excitement over there and pull in just as many new gamers.

M.A.S.

the reason they are sold out is that they don't ship alot of 360 their they probably ship them there monthly

rwhp3

Am I the only one who finds it weird that a TALES game is coming out on an XBOX system, but not a PLAYSTATION?

What a wacky time we live in.

yanipheonu

Golf clap for Microsoft.

Bravo. Never thought I would see a headline that said Xbox 360 sells out in Japan.

CaptCaveman

That's refreshing...

Funny to think their hard work is paying off but they're so used to not selling their consoles that they didn't even see it coming! It'd be a shame if they loose momentum because of that. Who will still be excited about Tales of Vesperia in September?

BJayz

This should have happened a long time ago... say on release and all throughout 2005?

Shockadin

Given the fact the Square Enix has three RPG 360 exclusives planned in the near future, I think we may be seeing this again.

Señor Shovelware

@yanipheonu: Hmm, my Gamecube would like to argue with you...

armless-phelan

All I can say is.... YEEEEEEES.

Bitten_Dead

like ihave said many times bfore, all u need in japan is lots of jrpg's and anime based games. maybe a couple of action ones too.

maraxusofk

I, like the Japanese, will be forced to buy a 360 just for this game too. Grr.

sayoko

I'll still wait for the PS3 version, not going to buy a 360 for 1 game.

@yanipheonu: Back when the game was first announced for the 360 I wondered how much money microsoft gave to Namco Bandai and whatever the amount it looks like it paid off...

ultros

here is a good way to get publicity and traction for an underperforming console. Release a semi-popular game and make sure there aren't enough consoles. Instant 'wow that must be a popular console' impression. Anyway, I'm sure they'll go back to their old habits once every fan has this insanely cheap console.

SpoBo

ROFL well done Kotaku, although you should have saved this one for April 1st!

lassiterb

i never thought i'd see the day when microsoft actually sold out in japan.

Fr0-Ninja

Why do people keep bringing up the "FFXIII no longer exclusive to the 360" point? This article is about Japan, and unless I haven't heard some news made after E3, I thought that FFXIII was still only for the PS3 in Japan. If such is the case, then I fail to see how Japanese gamers would react to it being released for the 360 outside their own territory.

I can't wait to see the hardware figures for last week so we can get an idea of what hard and soft figures were like...

endekks

@ultros:

What PS3 version are you talking about ultros? I don't know if they have even started making the PS3 version of Tales of Vesperia. At the E3, they said they were thinking about bringing it to the PS3, but nothing was confirmed. Star Ocean and Last Remnant are coming to the PS3, but not until after the 360 version is released. So you're going to have a pretty long wait. Nothing new for PS3 fans though. They had to wait more then a year for MGSIV andare still waiting for GT5 and FFXIII.

XanderZane

Well, I think Microsoft has made history. As far as I know, no American game console has ever sold out in Japan before. I mean NEVER EVER. lol!! They all want Tales of Vesperia and most likely Infinite Undiscovery when that gets released next month. I can only image what's going to happen when Star Ocean and Last Remnant get released in Japan. Yikes. I see huge, huge waiting lines at Japan video game retailers.

I don't think M$ dropped the ball, I think they were just surprised that the XBox 360 sold out in Japan. You people have to remember that when Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey got released, 360's never sold out. So M$ figured that wasn't going to happen with Tales of Vesperia either. I think the difference is that Tales series is a popular well known franchise, while Blue Dragon and LO are new IP's. Microsoft should be more prepared when Star Ocean gets released. They still need to be on their toes for Infinite Undiscovery and The Last Remnant. Make sure Japan retail shelves are overstocked, just in case. Good to see Japan gamers finally warming up to the 360. At least until FF XIII hits the PS3.

XanderZane

Holy crap, one game did it? That's freakin' amazing. I bet MS is really happy about that.

Ryodestined

Japan buys stuff all the time.

Killalaz

Wow...
I'm amazed a Tales game could do that...

Aetherium

for some reason, I'm sure they're [MS] going to screw this up somehow. this could back fire the same way it happened for nintendo with N64 when it launched with only one good game. They were probably secretly driving huge shipments of N64's to Yokosuka to sink in the harbor.. =P

Alicia

Now make it a pack in game, reduce the price, and call it a home run?

qamulek

Sold out? Geez, keep making those JRPGS Microsoft!

@Ed_209: I lawled hard at your comment.

ray phinkle

There are 360s at my local Toys-R-Us here in Nagoya -- fun fact, there actually are places in Japan besides Tokyo.

cmbuzzkill

They should be better prepared, when they have problems with sale in the region and when finally people want to buy some, they are running out of stock in week or two?!?!?!

yanogore

Oi that's impressive. Congratulations to Microsoft for accomplishing this feat. Take not Sony and Nintendo, this is why you gotta keep your eye out for a potential dark horse.

Real Serious Assassin

Probably some crazy shrewd move my MS to create a false sense of demand for the 360.

X2X

Wow, and silly old me thought that those exclusive RPG's were just nonsense.

Looks like they are no laughing matter, haha.

SnowFreak13

hell has froze over

tykat87