14 DAY TRIAL // If there's one thing that Microsoft wants to have, it's supremacy in Japan. The native country of Sony and Nintendo has always eluded the Redmond giant, mainly because the Japanese people didn't really like its games, which were oriented towards the American public in general. Stuff like violent shooters weren't really their cup of tea but recently things started to look good for Xbox Japan and, according to recent reports, the company is, for the first time, on top of the list in terms of sales in the country.
This is partly due to the variety of RPG titles that Microsoft has been funding local developers to produce. With the likes of Tales of Vesparia, Infinite Undiscovery or Blue Dragon, they have really begun to awaken the interest of the Japanese people in the American console.
Here's what Xbox Japan's Takashi Sensui had to say on the matter: "Sales have been in an upward trend in Japan recently and we intend to work hard to push this momentum forward moving into the holiday sales season... As an initial milestone, we would like to hit the one million mark as soon as possible, and are continuing to work hard to get to this milestone and go beyond... The recent launch of Infinite Undiscovery on September 11 saw sales of over 90,000 units in the week of September 8-14 according to data from Media Create, placing it the third-highest selling game in Japan in that period... We have similar high hopes for the upcoming launch of other RPGs such as The Last Remnant, Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope and Fable II."
But exclusive Japanese-made RPGs aren't the only thing Microsoft is relying on to take the fight in Sony and Nintendo's home ground. Sensui also pointed this out: "We believe that the launch of big RPG titles for Xbox 360 in Japan is an important part of the road to success here. However, it is not everything. The core of the Xbox 360 business is made up of three elements: great titles, the best online service and accessible hardware. Now we have all three elements firmly in place, we believe that Japanese consumers will see what we have to offer and agree that it is the best option available."
Well I'm sure that Xbox is doing a pretty decent job in Japan, because people there are very patriotic and can't be that easily convinced by Western producers to buy their products.