Blue Dragon moves some Xbox 360 hardware

by Justin Murray { Dec 11th 2006 at 10:20AM }

Blue Dragon is Microsoft's attempt to truly break into the Japanese console market. The Blue Dragon launch can be billed the REAL Xbox 360 launch day in Japan; at least, Microsoft hopes it is.

According to a confusing machine translation from GameSpot China, the Xbox 360 sold either 27,000 or 70,000 units to accommodate the release of Blue Dragon. If 70,000 is the correct number, an additional 43,000 units of Blue Dragon sold (which is the bulk of the Japanese owners who previously purchased an Xbox 360). In either case, this is certainly a nice boost for Microsoft.

If the 70,000 is the correct version of the translation, it would certainly be odd to see the Xbox 360 sitting at a solid #3 on Japan's weekly sales chart. Microsoft hopes to sell 200,000 copies of Blue Dragon in Japan, which means Microsoft hopes to have around 200,000 Xbox 360 units in Japanese households. While not impressive from the standpoint of, say, the DS -- Nintendo sells that many in two weeks -- Microsoft should enjoy the sales boost and the publicity that goes along with it.

Tags: 360, Blue Dragon, BlueDragon, Mistwalker, Mistwalker Studios, Mistwalker Stuidos, MistwalkerStudios, MistwalkerStuidos, Xbox 360, Xbox360

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Eric Von Shpeel @ Dec 11th 2006 10:27AM

70,000 moved on day 1
43,000 were indivudual games
27,000 were 360/game bundles

shirizaki @ Dec 11th 2006 10:33AM

It may help int he short term, but it doesn't help the X360 in the long run if they don't keep up with the games the Japanese want. They don't keep that up, the console turns into a hacking bed with people wanting more than "American games" on their system.

So when does Blue Dragon reach my shores?

ackmondual @ Dec 11th 2006 10:32AM

FIRST POST!??

Anyways, considering the backwards compatibility on the Jap 360s with XB games is less then... was it 15% or 10%? It's like the XB was half of what it was so to speak since Jap players need to stick with their original XB for Halo, Halo2, etc.

M$ selling 200K units from this potentially "killer game" is quite nice indeed. Ever since the SNES days (or possibly NES days), Jap players were all about RPGs a big first in genre, compared to action for US and the rest of the world.

Heck, if BD is any decent, it might put the 360 back on my radar.... for next year (again with the price cuts)

Neccy @ Dec 11th 2006 10:37AM

It will reach your shores about a month before ours, so stop whining. (UK)

Ringworm @ Dec 11th 2006 10:50AM

Remember N64 was purchased for Zelda and later sold back to stores after it was completed. Good luck 360...

TexRob @ Dec 11th 2006 10:59AM

Huge, popular IP, that is the only hope if MS is truly concerned with a long term presence in Japan. They can practically give consoles away, and people won't buy them if the games aren't there.

What you guys needs to realize, as gaming fans, is that even if you hate Xbox 360, the Xbox doing well in Japan benefits us all. If the PS3 hurts real bad here, and the Xbox 360 tanks in Japan, you will see Sony care less about the US, and MS care less about Japan. Competition makes the games and systems better, so it's important for all 3 to do well in all parts of the world. We, as gamers, reap the rewards.

thegman @ Dec 11th 2006 11:05AM

70,000 consoles .... man gizmondo sold more than that. the atari jaguar sold more than that.

The True Gamer @ Dec 11th 2006 11:19AM

Thegman, your mom serviced more than that.

BlackHeart @ Dec 11th 2006 11:20AM

"is Microsoft's attempt to truly break into the Japanese console market"

How many times have we read something like this?

Jonathan @ Dec 11th 2006 11:28AM

Out of curiosity more than anything else, I've asked a lot of my Japanese friends (some gamers some non-gamers) about the XBOX 360. Here is what I found out:

- About half the people I asked knew the name "XBOX"
- They know it's some kind of video game system, but they can't name any of the games available for it
- Many don't know the difference between "XBOX" and "XBOX 360"
- None of them own HD televisions, and none of them have televisions more than 27" (in fact most of them have 20" TVs)
- None of them know any Japanese person who actually has an XBOX (360 or original)

I guess, in my opinion, To say Microsoft really has an "uphill battle" is putting it very lightly. The PS2 and DS-Lite are really the systems of choice and things will only be harder for Microsoft once Wii and PS3 are in full-scale supply.

Tony @ Dec 11th 2006 11:23AM

In addition, he's comparing one week of sales of a GAME to a lifetime of sales for a SYSTEM. Makes sense.

I hope it meets their target. The game certainly looks fun. There are other games coming out that fit into the traditionally popular Japanese genres... Lost Odyssey is on Famitsu's readers most wanted list. There's also Trusty Bell and a few others that elude me.

Erik Novak @ Dec 11th 2006 11:24AM

on day 1?

Markster @ Dec 11th 2006 11:34AM

@1
I concurr.

The fact that 43,000 + 27,000 = 70,000 leaves absolutely no doubt that it was 27,000 bundles, and 43,000 individual copies of the game sold.

I would strongly suggest to Justin Murray to update the post.

@2
OWNED!

Johndude @ Dec 11th 2006 11:34AM

I really that the japs should wake up and smell the xbox lol!

i have one and its awesome, i live in northern ireland and have asked in my local gamestop, game and indepentent (spelled wrong) retailer and all are very upbeat about the 360 and the wii but none seem interested in the ps3 and the local independent retailer said basically that he wont touch the ps3 when it launches here because its a pile of crap

go wii60!

NATO_Duke @ Dec 11th 2006 11:37AM

#7 - wow, that post made no sense. Ford Pinto's sold more than that too - yay to apples and oranges. Do you have a sales figure for those machines in one day, and does that happen to be in 2006? Anyway, 12's point about the tv size makes a lot of sense to me. MS needs to do more to seperate the XBox out and to show it matters to those without a 42" hd tv.

foobob @ Dec 11th 2006 11:52AM

"Microsoft hopes to sell 200,000 copies of Blue Dragon in Japan"

Each Final Fantasy game sells more than 2,000,000 copies in Japan. Dragon Quest does slightly better.

200,000? good luck.

Doomstalk @ Dec 11th 2006 11:56AM

14- I remember my local (and, alas, defunct) independent gaming shop saying the same thing about the Xbox when it launched. He changed that tune pretty quickly as the system gained traction. Those sorts of shops are likely to get caught up in the fanboy fights, rather than catching the real trends. I wouldn't take his current stance to be the general trend until the supply situation stabilizes and gamers are able to make their choices based on something other than availability.

maximus @ Dec 11th 2006 12:08PM

As long as the japanese devs like Capcom keep making games for the 360 then there's not much to worry about, Dead Rising has done well in the West and i'm sure Lost Planet will too. MS will categorically never dominate in Japan, it's too much of a cultural issue.

007craft @ Dec 11th 2006 12:16PM

these japanese people are missing out. 360 Is a huge success here for everyone. Its also got the best multiplayer and online console capabilities.

I suppose that doesent matter to them when all their 20+ gamers watch anime, dress up as ficitional characters and like to sit at home alone playing those JRPGs so they can dream about how cool it would be if they lived in a fantasy world.

Pfff... Let the 360 die in japan. Its doing great everywhere else and Microsoft just keeps making better games and more online fun.

bubbacrosbysucks @ Dec 11th 2006 12:25PM

Caricature of Abercrombie with no shirt on, giving a disclocated thumbs up.
above the title
"White Dude"
CG of Dude slamming a shot glass on table with Little Dude slamming his sippy cup.

maximus @ Dec 11th 2006 12:25PM

Exactly what are they missing out on? The next big flashly blood and guts FPS like Gears of War or Splinter Cell and Ghost Recon.. so what. The japanese like quirky games, they like RPGs and there's nothing wrong with that. Your comments are immature and slightly racist.

VampireHunter Z @ Dec 11th 2006 12:42PM

If MSFT can drop a game as big as this every 2-3 months word will spread in Japan. They need to get to the point where they are selling 10K+ consoles every week. It's nothing compared to DS sales but 10K a week is a solid enough growth.

Anyway Blue Dragon will get lots of love when it's released in the US.

Author X @ Dec 11th 2006 12:46PM

@19: My god, you're right... NOBODY in Japan plays video games! That explains why there's no real video game industry in Japan... after all, if more than a small handful of Japanese played video games, we'd see companies spitting out software left and right, and consoles and valuable IP!
Really, think about it... if the (vastly) most popular genre is RPGs, of course they won't buy a system simply for its 50 online shooters. The majority of them obviously don't want those games, so if that's all Microsoft's fanboys keep touting, it's not going to convert anyone. Microsoft finally opened its eyes to the fact that Japan is a very different market than the US or Europe, and I think that's good for them (even though I've never owned either XBox, and have always bought Nintendo consoles, there's nothing wrong with a company succeeding as a result of good decisions), but they need to keep it up or all those 360s will go into the used stores once the gamers finish Blue Dragon. And, heck, after that, anyone wanting one won't even have to buy it new.

skimming @ Dec 11th 2006 1:26PM

There's more than one way to skin a cat (Japanese market penetration for 360)...

1) get Japanese gamers to like and buy games like Halo and GOW
2) get non-Japanese games to like and buy RPG style games like Blue Dragon

They both serve to pique game maker's interest in 360. Once the install base is there, game makers will not hesitate.

Also, both of these opportunities become dramatically more feasible via the demo download option. From my point of view, the only missed opportunity for MS WRT 360 has been the lack of a HD in the core system.

If I were them, I'd quickly correct this situation with a USB plugin with 2GB of memory at about $40.

deftangel @ Dec 11th 2006 3:24PM

To be fair to Microsoft, there are a lot more Japanese RPG's in the pipeline than just Blue Dragon;-

Culdcept Sage, Cry On, Infinite Undiscovery, Lost Odessey, Far East of Eden.

Plus Capcom and Koei are commited to pushing some games out. Even Square have been making some murmurings.

At least this time around they are trying to get more Japanese content out there. How much good in the long run it does them I don't know but they're making the effort.

In terms of announced titles, there are more JRPG's for 360 than PS3. I wouldn't expect that situation to last very long but pretty surprising wouldn't you think.

please kiddies @ Dec 11th 2006 4:07PM

If there are games for them, the Japanese will buy it. Any illusion of xenophobia on the part of Japanese gamers is only in the minds of ignorant white boys.

Oh btw, please stop using the word "japs". It's a racial slur. It's just like the N word. Please only use it when you really want to sound racist.

Joe @ Dec 11th 2006 9:56PM

"70,000 consoles .... man gizmondo sold more than that. the atari jaguar sold more than that."

In one week? Gizmondo didn't crack 10,000 TOTAL.

t @ Dec 12th 2006 12:09AM

"26. If there are games for them, the Japanese will buy it. Any illusion of xenophobia on the part of Japanese gamers is only in the minds of ignorant white boys.

Oh btw, please stop using the word "japs". It's a racial slur. It's just like the N word. Please only use it when you really want to sound racist.

coming from someone who uses the phrase "ignorant white boys"

jojo29 @ Dec 11th 2006 4:59PM

". And, heck, after that, anyone wanting one won't even have to buy it new."

Hehe thats how I'm buying my 360. Though, i will be buying my PS3 brand spanking new to accomadate my spanking new WII. Yeah i had to go cheap somewhere:)

O_o @ Dec 11th 2006 5:45PM

http://www.xbox-news.com/index.php?e=2626
Original source (XNEWS) which was cited.

Anyway, it is not about hardware sales, instead it is all BD software sales. 70000 copies is quite impressive for a first day lauch figure. I guess we'll notice it anyway after the weekly software chart is released.