Xbox 360 Prospects Suffer in Japan

News - 'Only 2% favour 360'

A new survey conducted by a Japanese news service has found that whilst some 60% of gamers in Japan are looking-forward to the release of the Playstation 3, a mere 2% are eagerly awaiting the new Xbox 360 system. The PS3 is expected out next spring, whilst Microsoft's new machine should arrive this November. 1,000 gamers were spoken to in the survey. Microsoft has made no secret about their ambitions to captivate and capture a larger share of the Japanese market (the original Xbox sold under 500,000 units in Japan), promising more games catering to local tastes. Indeed, famous-name designers have already been enlisted with this aim in mind, Itagaki, Mizuguchi, and Sakaguchi all working on exclusive, new titles for the system.

This may not be enough in the face of the PS3 and its powerful sequels however, with some 80% of those gamers surveyed looking-forward to big-name sequels, and 71% after RPG's it become clear the Xbox 360 - despite heavy investment - still faces an uphill battle in this key gaming region. Indeed, if this survey proves representative, all the original and genre-busting games being plotted by the exclusive studios signed may not be enough in the face of new Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest titles - both of which appear to be in cohorts with Sony. A lot will depend on who Microsoft can lure to the platform then, before the PS3 becomes established. More soon.