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Microsoft Voices Eastern Concerns

Xbox 360

Even in the Xbox days Microsoft had trouble, as an American corporation, cracking the Japanese market. This trend has carried through to the Xbox 360, despite a harder push by the company and greater support from Japanese developers. In fact, there are several promising titles in the pipeline that are sure to appeal to the market.

Darren Huston, the president and CEO of Microsoft's Japan division had this to say at a recent event. 'Globally we are doing very well but Japan has always been tough. We launched early and with not enough Japan-specific content.'

Previous attempts to break the market included releasing a limited edition Panzer Dragoon inscribed system, which unforunately had only little success. However, as games like Final Fantasy XI and Ninety-Nine Nights trickle out, they hope to regain ground. The 360 sold 1,897 units in the last week of June. In comparison, the PS2 pushed 22,133 units.

'We need to deliver more Japanese content that Japanese gamers want,' Huston continued. 'That's why we continue to work super hard with Japanese game developers and publishers. It's why our efforts with Sakaguchi-san and Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey are so important.'

Microsoft is in a very interesting situation over there at the moment, and the company will no doubt be watching the proceedings very closely over the next few months.

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