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Xbox beats Sony rival to Japan stores

Jun Moroto, 22, holds up his new Xbox 360 as Microsoft Corp vice president Peter Moore, right, congratulates him yesterday morning in Tokyo. Microsoft launched its new Xbox 360 video game console in Japan yesterday. PHOTO: AP

Jun Moroto is the kind of gaming fan Microsoft Corp wants more of in Japan.

Not only did the baseball-capped 22 year old line up in the middle of the night to be the first buying the new Xbox 360 video game console when it debuted in Tokyo yesterday, he says he sold off his old Sony PlayStation 2 to help finance the purchase.

"I'll spend three or four hours playing," Moroto said of his plans after a gala crack-of-dawn launch party in Tokyo's trendy Shibuya district.

Microsoft began selling the high-performance Xbox 360 in Japan yesterday, beating Sony Corp to stores in its rival's own backyard with next-generation gaming.

The Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft is determined not to repeat the failure of its original Xbox in Japan, the world's second-biggest video game market after the US and a realm long dominated by Sony's PlayStation.

Microsoft Japan president Darren Huston said yesterday his company aims to sell 1 million Xbox 360s in Japan by the middle of next year. That compares with just 1.8 million original Xbox units sold in Asia, including Japan, in the three years since it first went on sale.

Sony Corp's PlayStation 2, by contrast, has sold 21 million consoles in Asia over the last five years. Today, it remains the machine of choice in Japan, locking up about 80 percent of the market while Xbox languishes with 5 percent.

Microsoft's first Xbox got off to a rocky start in Japan, where some of the world's most dedicated and finicky gaming fans were turned off by its design, limited game selection and perceptions of shoddy quality.

"My thanks to the fans of Xbox here in Japan who have been so loyal to us through the difficult times of the first generation," corporate vice president Peter Moore told more than 100, mostly male, young people waiting to buy the machine at yesterday's launch.

"Your loyalty will pay off with incredible gaming experiences in the next generation," he said.

Part of the strategy is pre-empting Sony's next move. While the Japanese electronics giant is working on a new PlayStation 3, it won't go on sale until next year. Microsoft hopes the Xbox 360's earlier release will convert gamers like Moroto who can't wait that long.

Xbox 360 debuted last month in the US to winding lines of wide-eyed fans, store-aisle brawls to snag machines and top billing on Christmas wish lists. Moroto said he was drawn by the souped up graphics and the ability to play remote opponents over the Internet.

Worldwide, the company is aiming to ship between 2.75 million and 3 million machines within 90 days of the US launch.

The Xbox 360 sells for ¥37,900 in Japan, or about US$313, less than the US$399.99 charged in the US. It costs 399.99 euros (US$472.91) in Europe, where it was released on Dec. 2.

It will be available Feb. 24 in South Korea and March 2 in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan.

Part of the problem with the first Xbox in Japan was the lack of role-playing fantasy games, which are favored here over the shoot-'em-up arcade-style games that proved big Xbox hits in the US.

Microsoft has made a point this time of signing on designers popular here to make games exclusive for Xbox 360, such as Final Fantasy XI. Microsoft is planning to release 10 titles in Japan this month and has 100 in development.

The company also redesigned the clunky black case, with help of Japanese teams to create a streamlined, pearl-white look that is more appealing to Japanese tastes.

The first Xbox's tendency to scratch disks also ruffled feathers in Japan. While the problem didn't affect the game's performance, it was viewed as a symptom of poor attention to detail.

It is unclear how Japanese might react to reported problems in the Xbox 360 that cause it to crash in the middle of games.

Huston said yesterday those incidents are "quite isolated" and added that there is a Japanese hotline for customers to call if they experience problems and that the company will replace faulty equipment free of charge.

Tokyo-based Sony has not yet announced a price or a date for the release for the PlayStation 3, but its machine will be powered by a new computer chip called "cell" that Sony says will also drive digital electronics products in the works.

The PlayStation 3 will also use the next generation video format called Blu-ray Disk.

Nintendo Co, which makes Super Mario video games and GameBoy Advance handheld machines, will also face off against its bigger competitors with its new Revolution machine sometime next year.
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