Holy Cow - Could cheap JP 360's be on the Horizon..

[sailor-fuku]

I've no idea if this is legitimate news but just came across this.. sourced from megagames.com


Microsoft?s Xbox 360 might be hitting a stride in USA and Europe, but it is almost dying in Japan.



In June 2011 Microsoft celebrated reaching the 1.5 million Xbox 360 consoles sold in Japan. This milestone was reached more than five years after the console?s launch in 2005. Even more, the console sold less than 73,000 units in 2011 (compared to the PlayStation 3 selling more than 735,000 units in the same period).

Knowing that, and witnessing an increasing decline in demand, a lot of Japanese videogame retailers decided to phase the Xbox 360 out.

Both Geo and Yamada Denki, the nation?s largest retailers, confirmed that they have started removing Xbox 360 hardware and software from the majority of their branches and selling any remaining units at a heavy discount.

In the meanwhile, Xbox 360 consoles and games are starting to show up in bargain bins in most stores, with game prices starting from as low as ?100 ($1.30), with one store selling the Halo: Reach hardware bundle for ?9,980 ($130).

[Family Fry]

Yeah MS have pretty much just left Japan to it, they tried and they failed.
Will this mean cheaper 360's for us who want to import, will it fu....

[sailor-fuku]

we'll fingers crossed - If the possibilty of scoring at cheap jp unit to feed my shmup addiction.. I'll be jumping on it..

[Neon Ignition]

MS's presence in Japan is more for the sake of it, they're never going to crack that nut and really they'd do themselves a massive favour by not bothering to release the next Xbox there at all.

[Bort]

MS's presence in Japan is more for the sake of it, they're never going to crack that nut and really they'd do themselves a massive favour by not bothering to release the next Xbox there at all.

On the not releasing in japang part.
In a recent Pixeljunk Radio Dylan Cuthbert made an interesting point when talking about solely developing a game for one console. He said that it would be hard to ask Japanese person to develop for a system they wouldn't play/have access to. Although I thought most of what he said was archaic and a little elitist, that point really stood out.
Although MS have recently axed their dedicated 360 promo team, they'd be foolish to officially slash the system cost or axe the whole program. The system will always be niche, no matter what the price.

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Unless you knew someone in japan I would expect the middleman to take a larger profit. You'd be lucky to get a new system at a bargain price.

[dvdx2]

good news for Japan, but importers will always charge high prices when selling in the UK

anyone big into shooters surely would have a jap 360 by now? I mean they arent that much more expensive than a UK unit. Just save for a few months...

[Sketcz]

What will this mean for developers though? Will there be a shift away from the 360 for Japanese devs? Or will they continue to focus on multiplatform development? Could it mean greater divide between PS3 and 360? More exclusives for PS3? More outsourcing by Japanese companies ala Capcom?

Or will it simply be business as usual?

[Flabio]

Statement from MS today saying they're not pulling out of the market. They're always going to keep trying, because they want Japanese developers on the platform even if no customers there are buying.