Nipon gets nice price on 360
by Ken Weeks 
{ Mar 26th 2006 at 11:30PM }
Tokyo real estate may cost more than the rising sun, but it looks like Japanese gamers can score an
an Xbox 360 for considerably less yen than their
cousins in the US. According to a Japanese magazine ad posted by GamersReports, the 360 is selling for a mere $170
American in Japan, less than half the $350 launch price (There's only one SKU so it's the equivalent of our
$400 Premium System). The games pictured, including DOA4, are going for about $26.
I know that Japanese electronics stores such as Sofmap were unloading the 360 for as little as $150 at launch, provided customers signed an ISP contract. It's not clear if that's the situation here, or if there really is a firesale going on due to weak demand. In any case, I'm sure cash poor stateside gamers would love to have the same opportunity.
Japanese fluent readers please provide additional translation.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Josh @ Mar 26th 2006 11:47PM
This is absolute horse crap. We're over here begging for systems (I got lucky,) while the Japanese people can buy theirs for less than half of what ours cost, and games for even less. All this while everyone knew that anything non-japanese will never sell in Japans videogame market
DA360 @ Mar 27th 2006 12:13AM
I have a feeling there's a catch to it, like buy something for a high price and get it for cheaper or something.
But its understandable their selling it for cheap because the Japanese are just not interested at all in the 360, because theres not really any games on it the Japanese truely want to play on 360.
Duscrom @ Mar 27th 2006 1:38AM
A translation picked up at the linked site
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translate :)
new article
xbox360 launch package :19800yen(fixed price:39795yen)
Dead Or Alive 4 :2980yen(fixed price:8190yen)
Dynasty Warriors 4sp :2980yen(fixed price:8190yen)
These are special price, becouse the store collapsed and end of the fiscal year in PJ.
Presently, at the mass sales store it is average 36000 yen($307).
And With the Yahoo! auction it is 32000 yen.
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Sense @ Mar 27th 2006 11:43AM
Josh, just a little nitpicky clarification:
There is already a huge example of American success in the Japanese videogame market. SEGA, believe it or not, was founded by an American. SEGA doesn't exactly publish that fact, but it's true.
http://www.planetdreamcast.com/about/sega/#1
Anyway, the whole Japanese xenophopia argument is dumb. The (American) iPod is a huge success over there. If there are good games for the 360, the Japanese will buy it, especially if they are exclusive to 360.
Daryl @ Mar 27th 2006 2:48PM
#4 your totally right and I always bring this up when people say stuff like "japanese wont buy xbox cause its american and yet the ipod sells like mad in japan.
Josh @ Mar 28th 2006 12:25AM
I'm sorry for that, I was somewhat mad when I wrote it. I do realize that the Japanese people aren't close-minded to american products, but the thing that bugs me is that microsoft seems to be banging it's head against a wall, somehow expecting a different result. As Americans, most of us love FPS, and most Japanese happen to dispise them. However, the games that were released at and following the launch were, for the most part, FPS. Why then, did microsoft strive for a global launch, if it knew it would not sell in Japan? And yet some of my friends who preordered their systems still haven't recieved them, which was why I was a little aggrivated.
Sense @ Mar 28th 2006 12:26PM
Well, that's understandable. I think Microsoft had planned at least a few more Japanese friendly games for the launch, namely DOA4 and Enchant Arm. I agree that it sucks to know that so many consoles are on the shelves over there and not here. I got burned by the launch. I waited all the way through January. Finally I got a call from Gamestop offering me a Core package with the balance of my money back. I wanted the damned thing so bad I took it.
Still, I really do want Microsoft to succeed over there, because I want to see more Japanese developed games on my 360 than I did on my Xbox. For some reason all the Japanese publishers released risky first time IPs on the Xbox instead of trusted franchises. That will always puzzle me.
Why the hell did SEGA publish Otogi, JSRF, and GUNVALKYRIE for Xbox, but not Virtua Fighter? I guess they did port Sonic, but that has become weaker and weaker after the Dreamcast iterations.
Anyway, I want Microsoft to succeed in Japan so that I can get some real RPGs (besides Oblivion) on the 360.