I’m writing this review in hope to dispel some of the misconceptions regarding the Japanese XBOX 360. While I know there is demand for the XBOX 360, the staggering price that has been set by some retailers (such as Toy Kingdom) for the North American Core unit has turned off a lot of people. I also read the Inquirer news reports that had several glaring errors regarding the console that I wish to clarify those things.
1) WHAT IS THE JAPANESE XBOX 360?
First of all. There is no such thing as the Japanese CORE Xbox 360. Microsoft has only released premium units in Japan that contains the same things as the North American Premium units. The Japanese XBOX 360 is also known as the Commemorative Unit in Japan. The Japanese XBOX 360, just like the North American one, runs on 110 Volts. By March 2006, Microsoft will release the Asian XBOX 360 in China, Taiwan, Korea and Singapore which will have a voltage of 220.
The ones included in the Japanese XBOX 360 package are:
For picture reference I would like to show the difference in package between the North American CORE Unit and the Japanese XBOX 360 Commemorative Unit.
North American Core Unit: Commonly found in local retail stores such as Toy Kingdom and Astrovision selling for around P58,000 --- the actual price of this unit in North America is $299, relatively P16,000.
Japanese XBOX 360 Commemorative Unit: Commonly found in stores such as Kid Station and EYO in Greenhills. This unit retails for around P28,000 - P35,000 (The Inquirer report is incorrect) --- the actual price of this unit is $350, relatively P18000.
2) IS THE JAPANESE XBOX 360 COMPLETELY IN JAPANESE
No.
The XBOX 360 (at least for the Japanese one), in anticipation for a world wide audience has set several language options to choose from. When you first turn on your Japanese console you will see the XBOX 360 launch screen which looks absolutely gorgeous! So much better than those videos I've seen on the Internet. Once the dash loads for the first time, this is what you will see....
And there you have it, the language options!!! The console will ask you to select the language of your console. And from then on the whole dashboard and console options will be set to English.
When I say everything will be English, I’m talking about the system menus and some of the games (I will go into detail about the games later). The only hint of Japanese in the console is the “Rating Information” for Hexic, one of the free games that come with the console and the Japanese subtitles on some of the XBOX 360 videos.
I would also like to remind you folks about another region coding that is not normally shown here in the Philippines. Most of the time stores like Datablitz and Toy Kingdom sell NTSC/U games which they imported from America. The Philippines, while not officially, falls under the Asian territory that exists in Singapore. That means we also get the same English games but not from North America but from our Asian distributors.
I’m sure many of you are familiar with the Halo 2 theme XBOX console (the one colored Blue) and the Crystal XBOX. Those two consoles are considered as an Asian XBOX commonly distributed in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore but they bear the NTSC/J signature. What this means is that the Japanese XBOX 360 console and the Asian XBOX 360 console (which will launch in March 06) is essentially the same thing. The main difference between the two will be on the voltage and the DVD region coding playback (the DVD region coding will not affect the game).
Where to buy Asian games? As I mentioned earlier Datablitz imports games from the United States, they normally don’t carry Japanese/Asian games. However, there are some stores in Greenhills, such as EYO, that sell these games for a pretty good price. I for one got the Limited Edition Perfect Dark Zero there for P3500 while Datablitz sold the same US version for around P4000(?).
Microsoft has ‘promised’ stronger Japanese/Asian support for the XBOX 360. If the multi-lingual and the automatic language options in the video games will be counted as signs…they certainly are taking this Asian thing seriously.
4)WHAT ABOUT XBOX LIVE?
XBOX Live Language and Content options is dependent on what region of the world you signed up in XBOX.COM. If you signed up under the Japan region, you will get a Japanese XBOX Live Menu once you go online. If you signed up for North America or Singapore (like I did), you will get the English XBOX Live Menu once you go online. Regardless of where you signed up you can still play with the whole XBOX Live community. It doesn't mean that if you sign up in Japan, you'll end up with Japanese players only.
It is also interesting to note that the content for each region is different. Currently XBOX Live North American has the most content.
EVERYTIME you make a new account in XBOX.COM, once you use that account on a valid XBOX 360 and log on to XBOX Live, you are automatically given a 1 month trial of the XBOX Live Gold features.
5)OTHER IMPRESSIONS
* THE BOX IS VERY HEAVY!!! A while back I was planning on getting the console through eBay or having one of my friends buy it in the US and ship it here...bad idea. The shipping cost alone will be very high and the box (while very very very cool looking) needs proper handling to make sure that the console is ok.
* Heat issues. Yes the XBOX 360 disk gets hot and so does the console but none like the stories in some messageboards. It is not THAT hot. The heat is common if you have a high speed disk drive like the XBOX 360. The console itself was hot but it wasn't burning hot. Surprisingly, my powersupply remained cool...my gut tells me because I used an AVR to plug the XBOX 360 and it helped distribute the heat or something. Bottomline, yes the console gets hot just like the PS2 does. I am playing in a non-airconditioned room with just one electric fan and its not burning up like some forum reports.
* The Japanese XBOX 360 is the COMPLETE package! It even comes with Energizer batteries for the controller and the remote control! And nothing beats the wireless controller! All the manuals are in Japanese.
* If you don't have XBOX Live / DSL connection but you wish to update the Backwards compatibility emulator in your Japanese XBOX 360 you can download the one posted in the Microsoft site. I used a CDRW and the console read it. After patching the console will reboot...I panicked this happened I thought the machine died! After the reboot just wait for a while and it will load again but you may have to resync your controllers since which is kinda confusing.
* As suggested, I turned my console on and off with the wireless controller. I didn't use the ring of light to power the console since in some cases that may cause hardware failure daw. But I kept the console and the super power supply in a well ventilated area.
* My console's manufacturing date is Nov 21, 2005! Hopefully it has less bugs than the launch consoles in the US which were manufactured around September...
*** THE VERDICT ***
While I know some of you will be shaking your heads thinking that I should have just waited for the North American XBOX 360 and laughing at my impatience, let me say that I AM VERY VERY VERY HAPPY WITH THIS PURCHASE! Before I bought the unit, I did extensive research on the compatibility issues between the games coming out. And from what I've seen most of the best titles come are region free. As for those that aren't there are several stores that sell the Asian english versions of the games for roughly the same price as the North America ones.
I am no longer optimistic that Datablitz will get the North American consoles and sell them at a relatively reasonable price. The last time I went there, they told me they will most likely price the console around P30000, now they say its around P40000. While I understand that the shipping costs alone for this product will be very high, I don't think the current price range of the console will go down since it is the first of the next gen platforms and it won't have any compet1t1on until late 2006 when the PS3 debuts in North America.
All in all, I consider having made an informed decision to buy the Japanese console. And if in the end, it proves that I cannot play the English games that I want I can always have the console modified (the hackers are now hard at work for the bragging rights to do this) and sell it at a lower price and just buy the cheaper XBOX 360 CORE unit which is rumored to have a price slash by the time the PS3 comes in.
If you are interested in getting the Japanese version do a lot of research. I am not a rich kid and I saved money for this for a long time. I understand that risks that I am taking and so far everything has been worth it.
1) WHAT IS THE JAPANESE XBOX 360?
First of all. There is no such thing as the Japanese CORE Xbox 360. Microsoft has only released premium units in Japan that contains the same things as the North American Premium units. The Japanese XBOX 360 is also known as the Commemorative Unit in Japan. The Japanese XBOX 360, just like the North American one, runs on 110 Volts. By March 2006, Microsoft will release the Asian XBOX 360 in China, Taiwan, Korea and Singapore which will have a voltage of 220.
The ones included in the Japanese XBOX 360 package are:
- 1 XBOX 360 NTSC/J Console
- 1 XBOX 360 20GB Hard Disk (but the usable portions is around 11GB or so due to system part1t1ons)
- 1 XBOX 360 Wireless Controller
- 1 XBOX 360 Power Supply Unit
- 1 XBOX 360 Video Cables with the Japanese HD Video Connection (different from the North American one)
- 1 XBOX 360 Limited Edition Remote Control (Japanese font)
- 1 XBOX 360 Head set
- 1 standard LAN cable (sorry I don't know the length)
- 1 Bonus disk of Final Fantasy XI demo for the XBOX 360 (in Japanese)
For picture reference I would like to show the difference in package between the North American CORE Unit and the Japanese XBOX 360 Commemorative Unit.
North American Core Unit: Commonly found in local retail stores such as Toy Kingdom and Astrovision selling for around P58,000 --- the actual price of this unit in North America is $299, relatively P16,000.
Japanese XBOX 360 Commemorative Unit: Commonly found in stores such as Kid Station and EYO in Greenhills. This unit retails for around P28,000 - P35,000 (The Inquirer report is incorrect) --- the actual price of this unit is $350, relatively P18000.
2) IS THE JAPANESE XBOX 360 COMPLETELY IN JAPANESE
No.
The XBOX 360 (at least for the Japanese one), in anticipation for a world wide audience has set several language options to choose from. When you first turn on your Japanese console you will see the XBOX 360 launch screen which looks absolutely gorgeous! So much better than those videos I've seen on the Internet. Once the dash loads for the first time, this is what you will see....
And there you have it, the language options!!! The console will ask you to select the language of your console. And from then on the whole dashboard and console options will be set to English.
When I say everything will be English, I’m talking about the system menus and some of the games (I will go into detail about the games later). The only hint of Japanese in the console is the “Rating Information” for Hexic, one of the free games that come with the console and the Japanese subtitles on some of the XBOX 360 videos.
I would also like to remind you folks about another region coding that is not normally shown here in the Philippines. Most of the time stores like Datablitz and Toy Kingdom sell NTSC/U games which they imported from America. The Philippines, while not officially, falls under the Asian territory that exists in Singapore. That means we also get the same English games but not from North America but from our Asian distributors.
I’m sure many of you are familiar with the Halo 2 theme XBOX console (the one colored Blue) and the Crystal XBOX. Those two consoles are considered as an Asian XBOX commonly distributed in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore but they bear the NTSC/J signature. What this means is that the Japanese XBOX 360 console and the Asian XBOX 360 console (which will launch in March 06) is essentially the same thing. The main difference between the two will be on the voltage and the DVD region coding playback (the DVD region coding will not affect the game).
Where to buy Asian games? As I mentioned earlier Datablitz imports games from the United States, they normally don’t carry Japanese/Asian games. However, there are some stores in Greenhills, such as EYO, that sell these games for a pretty good price. I for one got the Limited Edition Perfect Dark Zero there for P3500 while Datablitz sold the same US version for around P4000(?).
Microsoft has ‘promised’ stronger Japanese/Asian support for the XBOX 360. If the multi-lingual and the automatic language options in the video games will be counted as signs…they certainly are taking this Asian thing seriously.
4)WHAT ABOUT XBOX LIVE?
XBOX Live Language and Content options is dependent on what region of the world you signed up in XBOX.COM. If you signed up under the Japan region, you will get a Japanese XBOX Live Menu once you go online. If you signed up for North America or Singapore (like I did), you will get the English XBOX Live Menu once you go online. Regardless of where you signed up you can still play with the whole XBOX Live community. It doesn't mean that if you sign up in Japan, you'll end up with Japanese players only.
It is also interesting to note that the content for each region is different. Currently XBOX Live North American has the most content.
EVERYTIME you make a new account in XBOX.COM, once you use that account on a valid XBOX 360 and log on to XBOX Live, you are automatically given a 1 month trial of the XBOX Live Gold features.
5)OTHER IMPRESSIONS
* THE BOX IS VERY HEAVY!!! A while back I was planning on getting the console through eBay or having one of my friends buy it in the US and ship it here...bad idea. The shipping cost alone will be very high and the box (while very very very cool looking) needs proper handling to make sure that the console is ok.
* Heat issues. Yes the XBOX 360 disk gets hot and so does the console but none like the stories in some messageboards. It is not THAT hot. The heat is common if you have a high speed disk drive like the XBOX 360. The console itself was hot but it wasn't burning hot. Surprisingly, my powersupply remained cool...my gut tells me because I used an AVR to plug the XBOX 360 and it helped distribute the heat or something. Bottomline, yes the console gets hot just like the PS2 does. I am playing in a non-airconditioned room with just one electric fan and its not burning up like some forum reports.
* The Japanese XBOX 360 is the COMPLETE package! It even comes with Energizer batteries for the controller and the remote control! And nothing beats the wireless controller! All the manuals are in Japanese.
* If you don't have XBOX Live / DSL connection but you wish to update the Backwards compatibility emulator in your Japanese XBOX 360 you can download the one posted in the Microsoft site. I used a CDRW and the console read it. After patching the console will reboot...I panicked this happened I thought the machine died! After the reboot just wait for a while and it will load again but you may have to resync your controllers since which is kinda confusing.
* As suggested, I turned my console on and off with the wireless controller. I didn't use the ring of light to power the console since in some cases that may cause hardware failure daw. But I kept the console and the super power supply in a well ventilated area.
* My console's manufacturing date is Nov 21, 2005! Hopefully it has less bugs than the launch consoles in the US which were manufactured around September...
*** THE VERDICT ***
While I know some of you will be shaking your heads thinking that I should have just waited for the North American XBOX 360 and laughing at my impatience, let me say that I AM VERY VERY VERY HAPPY WITH THIS PURCHASE! Before I bought the unit, I did extensive research on the compatibility issues between the games coming out. And from what I've seen most of the best titles come are region free. As for those that aren't there are several stores that sell the Asian english versions of the games for roughly the same price as the North America ones.
I am no longer optimistic that Datablitz will get the North American consoles and sell them at a relatively reasonable price. The last time I went there, they told me they will most likely price the console around P30000, now they say its around P40000. While I understand that the shipping costs alone for this product will be very high, I don't think the current price range of the console will go down since it is the first of the next gen platforms and it won't have any compet1t1on until late 2006 when the PS3 debuts in North America.
All in all, I consider having made an informed decision to buy the Japanese console. And if in the end, it proves that I cannot play the English games that I want I can always have the console modified (the hackers are now hard at work for the bragging rights to do this) and sell it at a lower price and just buy the cheaper XBOX 360 CORE unit which is rumored to have a price slash by the time the PS3 comes in.
If you are interested in getting the Japanese version do a lot of research. I am not a rich kid and I saved money for this for a long time. I understand that risks that I am taking and so far everything has been worth it.