Xbox 360 cracks Japan

[wraggster]

Blue Dragon 360 bundles sell out after first day of pre-orders

Ladies and gentlemen, you might want to sit down; the Xbox 360 has sold out In Japan. Well, the special-edition Blue Dragon bundles have, anyway.

Pre-orders began yesterday for the SE bundle, of which there are 10,000 units, and it miraculously managed to sell out in Japan almost immediately, with the additional 90,000 'standard' bundles reportedly selling fast.

According to 1up.com, one major online retailer managed to sell out of their SE allotment in five minutes, with others managing to last most of the day.

The special-edition bundle contains an Xbox 360 core system with Blue Dragon, along with an original table calendar, Blue Dragon faceplate illustrated by game artist Akira Toriyama and a set of five miniature character figures. All of this for the bargain price of 29,800 yen (134 JPN).

Considering the huge amount of Toriyama fans in the Far East and severe shortages of the PS3, the pre-order sell out is perhaps not so surprising. Still, it's a much-needed boost for Microsoft in Japan, where most weeks it has been struggling to shift even 1,000 units of its next-gen console.

Is MS about to get the break its been praying for in the world's gaming capital? Watch this space

[Darksaviour69]

last week they only sold 2,000 ish consoles, and all the weeks before it was around the 1,000 - 1,500 mark.... and now they sold 10,000 +

well done MS

[Adrenalin]

yes, i would like to congratulate them. they are on the right path with their offerings to the japan market. but its still a long harsh road to compare to playstation/nintendo.

[Makaveli777]

Wow... its selling because of a "blue dragon". Japanese have weird tastes. How does a system become more desirable because a dragon on it? Still same games.

[ryan2006]

gd news and with a naruto game coming to the 360 this will boost sales again

[SmashinGit]

Excellent news, just in time for the launch of the Playstation 3 and Wii.

[irongiant]

"The special-edition bundle contains an Xbox 360 core system with Blue Dragon, along with an original table calendar, Blue Dragon faceplate illustrated by game artist Akira Toriyama and a set of five miniature character figures. All of this for the bargain price of 29,800 yen (134 JPN)."

Hardly cracked Japan, they're practically giving it away at that price, considering a game is £40.