360 not doing so bad in Japan.

This may seem as a big shock to some people who think that the 360 is dead in Japan. It's not. Far from it, in fact it has already performed much better than the XBOX.

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何ですか?!

Now before we get some violent reactions take a look at the figures below:

http://www.n4g.com/News-91672.aspx

Nintendo Wii: Hardware = 3,945,429 through Dec 2/07 (MC)
Tie Ratio = 2.60

Sony PS3: Hardware = 1,440,642 Through Nov 25/07
Tie Ratio = 1.95

Microsoft X360: Hardware = 509,314 through Nov 25/07
Tie Ratio = 3.93

Note that the 360 is practially 1/8th of the Nintendo Wii's installed base and just 1/3rd of the PS3's installed base. Yet despite all that, it remains to have the HIGHEST SOFTWARE ATTACH RATE! Now this is a very big thing for Microsoft Japan. The the hardware may not be selling well, game developers and Microsoft themselves are making money by selling more software than their competitors. Now Microsoft has announced that they are planning on increasing the number of games that get to the Japanese 360 owners in hope to reach 1 million hardware consoles sold. Even if the Wii and the PS3 move up to 5 million or more, by 1 million consoles given the software attach rate for the 360, Microsoft Japan will become even more profitable.

It's interesting to note at the performance of the 360 games in Japan. The top selling games of all time are the following:

202,294 Blue Dragon (Microsoft) (12/7/06) – through Oct 14/07
106,200 Dead or Alive 4 (+Xbox 360 Platinum) (Tecmo) (12/29/05) / (11/1/07) – rounded off through Jan 14/07 / Nov 4/07 (105,331 + 900) 85,000 Dead Rising(+ Platinum + Dead Rising/Gears of War Plat)(Capcom)(9/28/06)/(6/14/07)/(11/1/07)–rnd off through May 13/07 / Oct 14/07 / Nov 4/07 (65,908+16,950+2,100)
81,642 Halo 3 (Microsoft) (9/27/07) – through Nov 18/07
79,069 Ace Combat 6: Kaihou e no Senka (Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation) (Namco) (11/1/07) – through Nov 18/07
76,000 Gears of War (+Platinum+ Dead Rising/Gears of War Plat)(Microsoft)(1/18/07)/(11/1/07)/(11/1/07) - rnd off through Aug 12/07 / Nov 18/07 / Nov 4/07 (67,718+6,211+2,100)
72,129 Ridge Racer 6 (Namco) (12/10/05) - through Dec 31/06 71,257 The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Spike) (7/26/07) – through Oct 14/07 67,671 Trusty Bell: Chopin no Yume (Eternal Sonata) (Namco) (6/14/07) – through Oct 14/07
61,600 Lost Planet: Extreme Condition (+Xbox 360 Platinum) (Capcom) (12/21/06) / (11/1/07) – rounded off through Mar 11/07 / Nov 4/07 (60,861 + 700)

Now 2008 looks like it may be another good year for the 360 in Japan with these games in the horizon...

Devil May Cry 4
Ninja Gaiden 2
Soul Calibur 4
The Last Renmant
Infinite Undiscovery
Cry On
Blue Dragon 2

If you want to see the complete list of games for the 360 and the other consoles check out this link... http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=128989

Now why should gamers who do not live in Japan care about this? Compared to the sales of the western territories the Japan sales are dismal. While Japan isn't the gaming power house that it used to be, the high software attach ratio for the 360 in Japan is something that may attract even more Japanese developers to the console. The more Japanese developers on board, the more diverse games will be available to the XBOX 360.

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