Xbox 360 outsells PS3 in Japan for fourth time, Four Horsemen draw closer
by Ben Gilbert 
{ Feb 26th 2009 at 12:20PM } 
Considering Star Ocean: The Last Hope was released this past week and is outselling every game on the chart by a margin of at least 3:1 (162,232 units, folks -- in one week!), we're taking a stab in the dark here and saying 360 sales had something to do with that. After all, the last few times we put out a call to the horsemen, two other JRPG titles were to blame: Infinite Undiscovery and Tales of Vesperia.
Can you remember the other game that put 360 on top in Japan for a week? Hint: It involves fire and liberation and ... fighter jets. Give up? Too bad! We're still not telling!
Okay, fine ...
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
oxzid @ Feb 26th 2009 12:26PM
Ace Combat 6?
Vinner @ Feb 26th 2009 12:50PM
That game was pretty bad imo. Graphics and gameplay wise it is great (but then again Ace Combat 5 was as well) but story wise....let's just say "Go dance with the angels" is the &#*&@* insult ever. I got to the 5th mission, got tired of hearing that phrase 8x and just stopped.
Insight @ Feb 26th 2009 12:54PM
EDIT: Totally off-topic. Let us do the moderating. :)
Vinner @ Feb 26th 2009 1:00PM
I'd rather have vulgar insults that entertain, than a single phrase that has no meaning repeated over and over. Hell, I'd rather play Blood in the Sand instead of finishing Ace Combat 6.
EDIT: I'm sure there's a better place you could've found that. :P
Kizzle @ Feb 26th 2009 1:27PM
Insight: "Judging by your choice of words..."
Oh. You're one of THOSE people.
EDIT: Stop using a word to describe someone's sexual preference as an insult. Good way to get banned.
Ghen @ Feb 26th 2009 4:25PM
crazy phantom editors omg.. someone's got the POWER!
xandeR- @ Feb 26th 2009 12:27PM
Ace Combat 9? Your answer is wrong.
Joe @ Feb 26th 2009 12:29PM
This would be the first isn't it? Last time it just missed the wii by about a few hundred in sales?
Iroquois @ Feb 26th 2009 7:36PM
well there ya go then
secret to japanese xbox sales
change company name to microsoft square
or microsoft enix
or microsquare
or enixsoft
haha
Josh @ Feb 26th 2009 9:46PM
Or you know, we could
all just make our
text trail off
like this
...
samik @ Feb 26th 2009 12:29PM
"The last hope" sure is an apt name - it is last chance saloon for the 360 in Japan, because its the last AAA exclusive JRPGs hitting the console for some time, especially as Cry On was supposedly canceled (with good reason, given the cost of developing an RPG versus the paltry sales for "FF Killer" Lost Odyssey)
myabsolution @ Feb 26th 2009 12:35PM
Thats not Microsoft's fault though. People in Japan love to buy anything with a "Square" and an "Enix" on it.
Lost Odyssey is better than any of these other JRPGs released so far, which is really sad to me that it sold less than all the Squenix ones this gen...
because if MS's JRPGs don't sell that well... how can they justify making more of them? (I really hope they do make a sequel to Lost Odyssey, as I think the first sold well enough in the West).
samik @ Feb 26th 2009 12:44PM
"Lost Odyssey is better than any of these other JRPGs released so far"
I agree - you wonder whether the JRPG market is drying up with everyone moving to shooters and shooter-based western RPGs
Josh @ Feb 26th 2009 9:48PM
Or maybe, JPRGs just aren't as good as they used to be.
They lost that "charm" they used to have...
Benjamin Gilbert @ Feb 26th 2009 12:31PM
Fixing!
myabsolution @ Feb 26th 2009 12:31PM
Yeah outselling the PS3 for fourth time seems less of an achievement than outselling the Wii for the first time ever.
Anyways, I doubt sales of PS3/360 will go anywhere downwards in Japan, both consoles have Biohazard 5 coming out very soon, so I'm guessing this will be a big month for both HD machines as opposed to the Wii.
Anam @ Feb 26th 2009 12:50PM
They are not at liberty to admit that they are in competition with the Wii.
pete @ Feb 26th 2009 1:40PM
hopefully this is a sign that wii-fans realize there arent any games worth playing??
Paviel @ Feb 26th 2009 1:46PM
When last I checked, Super Mario Galaxy and Super Smash Bros. Brawl were worth playing.
Oh, nevermind...
Anam @ Feb 26th 2009 2:06PM
Those are Mario games. They don't count because if you read the fine print of the complaints about Nintendo, they say very clearly that "all Nintendo does is shovelware crap! Unless you play nothing but Mario games! LOL!"
Likewise, ports and downloadable games do not count either, for reasons currently under investigation.
Mr Khan @ Feb 26th 2009 2:24PM
Tired arguments are tired. Certainly Wii has nothing to equal Resident Evil in terms of importance, but it would take someone with a lot of balls to try and figure out how to de-legitimate MadWorld as a good Wii game, and Sonic and the Black Knight will rock too, despite what people think
Duke @ Feb 26th 2009 2:33PM
Super Mario Galaxy was released in Nov 2007 and Super Smash Bros. Brawl in Jan 08 in Japan. So, how long can you expect those titles to be a great excuse to get the console. You should keep having good games made to keep interest alive in a console. The other consoles are still pushing for sales and not resting on pure hype.
Anam @ Feb 26th 2009 5:53PM
@Duke
It all depends on what you play and how much. I will never regret buying my N64, despite only ever playing maybe 8 games that I liked, and only about 4-5 of those would I call "great."
As much as I'd love to tell someone that the 360 is a "better" deal than other consoles because it has dozens of excellent games, the truth is that about 95% of my playing time was on two games: Rock Band 2 and The Orange Box. So if someone enjoys Super Mario Galaxy and Super Smash Bros. Brawl as much as I enjoyed those, I'd say the Wii is a steal.
Dr Jeckyl and Mr ESC. @ Feb 26th 2009 12:31PM
The four horsemen? You mean Tim Allen,The grinch,Adolf Hitler and Barbara Streisand?
(Those horsemen need some fukken bikes,what is taking them so long?)
David Hinkle @ Feb 26th 2009 12:37PM
Dude, don't mess with Tim Allen. He'll get hammered and do donuts on your lawn.
Levi @ Feb 26th 2009 1:09PM
Tim Allen was in a bad movie about being a corky biker.
Levi @ Feb 26th 2009 1:11PM
Dorky** seriously, why does the all mighty iPhone want to change the word "dorky" to "corky"??
Chris D.(PSN: Aggie_CEO | XBL:The Aggie CEO | Steam: Aggie_CEO @ Feb 26th 2009 12:34PM
I know nintendo doesnt like that. if that happens again I expect to hear about Various colors of Wiis
Rhamsey @ Feb 26th 2009 1:23PM
seriously, nintendo isnt really the lets share the top type.
ymmv @ Feb 26th 2009 12:35PM
To put everything in perspective again: the best-selling 360 game in Japan so far has been Blue Dragon with 203,740 sold copies (according to Famitsu). White Knight Chronicles for the PS3 sold 207,000 copies in _1_ week (100,000 copies on the first day alone). Total sales after 1 month were 315,937 copies.
The 360 may have more JRPGs than the PS3, it doesn't have the sales - even in Japan.
For the curious, here's the 360 top 10 in Japan (before Star Ocean 4 and SF4 were released obviously):
1. Blue Dragon 203,740
2. Tales of Vesperia 161,070
3. The Last Remnant 134,611
4. Infinite Undiscovery 112,444
5. Lost Odyssey 109,517
6. Dead or Alive 4 108,618
7. Viva Pinata (Platinum) 101,552
8. Forza 2 (Platinum) 100,591
9. Ace Combat 6 95,002
10. Halo 3 83,696
flanker22 @ Feb 26th 2009 3:05PM
^ to put things into perspective...
there are almost 3 million PS3s in japan
with only a million 360s in japan
j.howlett @ Feb 26th 2009 12:37PM
if you keep crying apocalypse no one will believe you when it really does come
pete @ Feb 26th 2009 1:42PM
this comment made me laugh out loud for real... not an "lol"
Jack Tretton @ Feb 26th 2009 12:37PM
Just goes to show you that, yes, people will buy a console for the sake of one game, especially in Japan. Although, I bet attach rates in Japan are much lower than in the U.S. -- so while 360 sales get a little boost when an exclusive RPG is released, I doubt the new buyer's library of 360 games will ever be large.
BPMOmega [gamertag] @ Feb 26th 2009 12:43PM
Man, you know what Microsoft should do in Japan to really boost sales?
Once sales for SO4 die down, release a 360 RPG super-bundle. A 360 bundled with Blue Dragon, Tales of Vesperia, Star Ocean, Lost Odyssey... Or some combination of the system's RPGs. Basically, make it really blatant that 360 has a lot of JRPGs.
The 360 is already dirt cheap over there (due to the fact it doesn't sell), so this would be a pretty cheap bundle.
AkaMagi @ Feb 26th 2009 2:39PM
You should be in charge of marketing the 360 in Japan.
Seriously.
That would actually be a great idea. Bundle it with the Arcade unit and sell it at the same price it is now, and that would really move systems, and probably not cost MS much in the way of paying for the bundled games.
SoCoolCurt (PSN: KillaKornbread - XBL: SoCoolCurt) @ Feb 26th 2009 4:34PM
that does sound like a good idea. i know i love my PS3 but as far as JRPG's go this generation, 360 is where it's at. i buy all my JRPG's for 360. a bundle like that would certainly move some units in Japan for those fence sitters.
BPMOmega [gamertag] @ Feb 27th 2009 1:32AM
"You should be in charge of marketing the 360 in Japan."
Yeah, but I'm whiter than the people they have marketing the 360 in Japan. I'm so white, I blend in with snow.
Rahul (Rurouni Kenshin Forever!) @ Feb 26th 2009 12:45PM
Microsoft, just get a Monster Hunter game on the 360, that's all you need to do!
xFenixKnightx @ Feb 26th 2009 1:04PM
^This^
Rahul (Rurouni Kenshin Forever!) @ Feb 26th 2009 1:07PM
Considering all the money and effort Microsoft has spent getting exclusive DLC on the 360, taking away exclusives from the PS3, especially Japanese games, it makes me wonder why they didn't try to make Monster Hunter 3 exclusive to the 360 instead of the Wii or at least make it multiplatform on the 360. : 0
Mr Khan @ Feb 26th 2009 2:26PM
According to Capcom, it would be too expensive. At least, that was what they cited for getting it off the PS3 in the first place
Duke @ Feb 26th 2009 2:36PM
Yeah, MH on the 360 would drive sales through the roof I bet. Call MS!
patapon_rocker (The Old slycooper_rocker) @ Feb 26th 2009 5:35PM
actually, part of the monster hunter craze (i love it too) is that it's portable and easy to play with friends around you. in japan, that is a winning combo. on a console, it doesn't work out as well. that's why the wii version probably will sell a lot, but not as much as the psp versions.
Izeas GT @ Feb 26th 2009 12:54PM
They're bikers, not horsemen. Jeez, haven't you read Good Omens yet?
Lord Negatron @ Feb 26th 2009 12:52PM
Oh Japan you, with your different taste in uhh...everything.
xGeneral DEATHx @ Feb 26th 2009 3:34PM
Japan: Growing an exporting a culture of weird shit. Since 1953.
J/k...I love you, Japan.
Evan @ Feb 26th 2009 1:15PM
How hard is it to sink into Sony's thick head that they need to release RPGs, not American shooters, in Japan?
Maverick Saturn @ Feb 26th 2009 1:23PM
I think Sony has far bigger concerns in the Japanese market then whether or not it needs more RPGs.
j.howlett @ Feb 27th 2009 1:20AM
they gotta get past deep pockets