14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is sending word that it plans to introduce two limited time bundles of its Xbox 360 gaming console, especially for the Japanese market. In Japan, the Microsoft made device has mostly trailed the Sony made PlayStation 3 in sales, even after the recent price reduction, and the bundles could be a way of generating additional sales.
The first game to be introduced via the special offer is Star Ocean: The Last Hope, a Japanese style role playing game from Square Enix. The bundle will first become available on February 19 and will sell for the yen equivalent of 263 dollars. As part of the offer, buyers will get: an Xbox 360 console, the Arcade version, a copy of the game, which is an Xbox 360 exclusive, a soundtrack CD, a faceplate for your home console and special box packaging.
The second bundle will arrive on March 5 and will feature Resident Evil 5 on the date when the game is officially launched in Japan, under the name Biohazard. The retail price will be the yen equivalent of 369 dollars and the buyer will get an Xbox 360 console, with a 60 GB hard drive and an Xbox Live Gold membership card, which will last for 48 hours together with a copy of the game. In the package, there will also be: a headset, a soundtrack CD, tin case for collectors, a code that can then be used to download a Resident Evil 5 theme for the console interface. The package itself will have a special design exclusive to the bundle.
Sony is also launching a Resident Evil 5 bundle including the game and a PlayStation 3 console with an 80 GB hard drive for the price of 525 dollars. It seems that the Sony alternative is more costly than the Microsoft one for the fans of the Resident Evil series, but the hard drive capacity of the console you get is a bit bigger.