While the US and Europe have succumbed to the 360's many charms the Japanese market has resisted the delights of rock-solid online gaming, space marine shooters and glossy sports titles. A few sales spikes here and there yes, but the 360 is consistently outsold every week by pretty much every other console, past and present, in Japan. So maybe Microsoft's announcements ahead of this week's Tokyo Game Show represent the last throw of an increasingly desperate die.
Ninja Gaiden 2's exclusivity is probably the headline news. Lost Odyssey - the RPG from the team behind the oddly addictive Blue Dragon - was confirmed for a December release in Japan (2008 elsewhere). While Square Enix showed off two new titles - Infinite Undiscovery and The Last Remnant - both which sound like they were named after 70s prog rock LPs. And for those six Japanese 360 owners who don't like RPGs the October release of Beautiful Katamari will be good news.
But perhaps the most interesting announcements were for Xbox Live Arcade, with Rez and Ikaruga coming to the system. Rez is shooter/music thing inspired by abstract painter Kandinsky and often referenced in the hoary old "games as art" argument. Ikaruga is an old-school shoot-em-up that is likely to make anyone over 25 mourn their lost reflexes. Both should look fantastic in HD and along with Sensible Soccer - sadly seemingly delayed till the end of the year - and Speedball 2 will give a welcome boost to Live Arcade. But can they, and the RPG big hitters turn round the 360's fortunes in Japan? I doubt it.
