14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is apparently hell-bent on marketing the Xbox One in Japan much more aggressively than one would expect, especially considering the poor performance of the Xbox 360.
The last time Sony and Microsoft met in the Land of the Rising Sun, the PlayStation 3 blew the Xbox 360 clear out of the water, but it seems that this time around the creators of the Xbox aren't willing to go down without a tough fight.
Microsoft's aggressive marketing campaign is focused primarily on games, and as such the company has enrolled some considerable support from local Japanese developers that will create custom content for the Xbox One to cater to the specific needs of the Japanese clients.
In addition to this, the company has also put together a rather sizzling montage that showcases the Xbox One's line-up of juicy titles with choice gameplay bits that are meant to display the best that the next-gen computer entertainment system from Microsoft has to offer.
The most interesting part of it all is that it seems to be working so far. The Xbox One Day One offer, including two games at a very convenient price, in both the Kinect and Kinect-less flavors, was consistently at the top of the popularity charts on Amazon Japan and now at Yodobashi Camera, one of the biggest electronics retailers in the country.
The omens look good for Microsoft, but the truth is that only time can tell whether its efforts will pay off, and how well the company will be able to adapt to the particularities of the Japanese market.
The Xbox One will make its debut in Japan on September 4 this year, and we'll keep our eyes open for the Media Create sales charts that will follow on September 10, showing the results of Microsoft's work in the attempt to catch up to Sony, who is already selling its PlayStation 4 in Japan since February.
The Kinect-less SKU will go for the same price that the PlayStation 4 goes for, and Microsoft has also revealed that the launch line-up of games will feature 29 different titles for the Japanese market, and all the accessories put on sale in the other regions that the Xbox One is available in will also become available there.
Microsoft seems to be determined to make things right, and Phil Spencer, the newly appointed head of the Xbox division, managed to organize a pretty solid show for this year's edition of the E3 gaming trade show, in addition to coming off as a genuinely nice guy that's interested in what the community wants.
