Jap 360, thoughts?

[Distant Cousin]

Hey all, new member here

Been looking around and I've found a 360 Commeroration pack for around ?255 on Play Asia, should I go for it? I'm in the early stages of learning script and I'm pretty confident that I'll be able to read menus etc on the less text-heavy games [For example, Ridge Racer 6, Dead or Alive 4]

I don't mind importing games for it, but I'm concerned that there will be a language barrier with the more text-heavy games.

Thoughts?

[sj33]

I think the greater issue is the fact that, like the original XBox, the western consoles are likely to get more releases.

[Distant Cousin]

Right, but surely the Jap console will get some exclusives? And some games will be region free...

[tom-nook]

If it's anything like the original Xbox there'll be very little in the way of exclusive Jap only releases. With the original Xbox the installed user base was so small in Japan that it wasn't econonmically viable to release products solely for the domestic market (with the exception of Nezmix & a couple of others). Unless Japanese gamers take to the 360 in a big way it's unlikely the situation will change anytime soon. Whilst there are more Jap developers onboard for the 360 they seem to be working on games that will appeal to a worldwide audience.

The language barrier may not prove to be too big an issue though. A fair amount of the Jap 360 launch titles include English language support (incl. Ridge Racer 6 btw). Additionally there were a lot of Asian versions of games released for the Xbox (that work on Jap/ntsc consoles) and they pretty much all include an English language option.

However, if your looking to see a bunch of interesting Jap only 'niche' titles like you see on the PS2 & GC then I think you'll be disappointed......

[Atticus]

Do 360 dash-boards have language options?

And, given the region-free aspect of some games, can data from different regions co-inhabit a system's hard drive?

[wod]

yes you can switch to english language on a jap 360 and on a jap 360 the japan ridge 6 is all in english when the dashboard is set to it as playasia have tested it out

[chipsgravy]

Well I have opted for a JPN 360. Reason is they are easily avaliable. A few titles are region free. Some titles are fully in English once the dash is set in English. There is a new wrestling game coming out (Wrestle Kingdom) that is likely to be region locked and unavaliable in the west. I figure that when the really good XB360 titles come out I will be able to pick up a pal version reasonably cheaply.

[Mattc_187]

Anyone know if the Japanese 360 will work on 'Live' in the UK ?

[Number45]

You should be able to connect to the Live service, it's only modified consoles that are a problem - not those that have been moved from region to region.

[zutonic]

I imported a Japanese Xbox 360 to the UK and I signed up for Live with no problems at all. They even let me use the one month free Gold access that came with my Jap 360, which I was very happy about So far everything has worked fine, from playing Ridge Racer 6, to downloading demo games, trailers, etc., etc..

[Mofoman]

Yes, and because my dash is set to english in my jap 360, the live service connects me to mainly englih speakers, and I have had several games with people on the board.