Japan and the 360

The pictures of unsold boxes suggested that things weren't going well for the Xbox 360 in Japan. This has been confirmed with news that less than 110,000 units were sold since launch. To put this in context this is even less than the 124,000 that the original Xbox sold in its first three days of launch. The reasons for this slow start are numerous and include cultural factors, but the key one is the lack of a truly must-have title. While this hasn't hindered the response in the West, there is little to tempt the Japanese consumer to the 360. This is likely to change in the coming weeks with Ninety-Nine Nights and Final Fantasy XI on the way. But even with these it looks like, in Japan at least, PS3 and Revolution have little to fear from the first next-gen console. Of course the real action now takes place in the US, and to a lesser extent, Europe, but Japan is still important. I expect a flurry of PR puff attempting to cover up the situation in the next few days, but there is no denying that the 360 is already in trouble in Japan.