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XBox (Games)

360 Backwards Compatibility Lacking In Japan 40

Posted by Zonk from the fuzzy-end-of-the-lollypop dept.
Gamespot reports that the backwards compatible list for the 360 at launch in Japan is ... somewhat abbreviated. From the article: "While the US list of Xbox games playable on the Xbox 360 has more than 200 titles, the Japanese list only carries 12 games. Microsoft Japan notes that additional titles will be added to the list in the future, so it might be a matter of time before the remaining games from the American list appears."
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360 Backwards Compatibility Lacking In Japan More

360 Backwards Compatibility Lacking In Japan

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  • Xbox in Japan (Score:3, Interesting)

    by mrbaggs ( 864520 ) on Wednesday November 16, 2005 @05:07PM (#14047152)
    Given the extremely low sales of the Xbox in Japan this isnt suprising. Just let a few games that sold well play and dont worry about the rest is probably thier strategy.

    • Re:Xbox in Japan (Score:3, Insightful)

      by BigDork1001 ( 683341 )
      Given the extremely low sales of the Xbox in Japan this isnt suprising.

      I'm going to take the opposite side of this and say it is surprising. Since the X-box didn't sell well in Japan I'd think they'd be doing everything they can to ensure stronger sales.

    • Re:Xbox in Japan (Score:2, Insightful)

      by higuy48 ( 568572 )
      It absolutely is surprising. XBox division bigwigs are on record as saying that if they don't break into Japan this generation, they will consider the XBox 360 a failure. It's been on /. already.

  • Betrayal (Score:3, Funny)

    by Golias ( 176380 ) on Wednesday November 16, 2005 @05:16PM (#14047245)
    While the lack of some of these titles from the compatable Japan list is regretable, I just noticed that not even the more-complete US list has "DOA: eXtreme Beach Volleyball" on the list of compatible games.

    This new console is dead to me now. It hurts too much to even talk about. *sniff*

    Thank goodness I still have the original X-Box, which allows The Greatest Console Game Evar to run just fine. Ah, Kasumi... I haven't bought you anything lately, have I? No matter, a couple days of playing The Hopping Game at the pool, and I can get you those sunglasses you like. *twitch* *twitch*
    • Don't worry man, you know DOA: eXtreme Beach Volleyball 2 is going to come out at some point. Or maybe it'll be called DOA: eXXtremer Beach Volleyball, with the extra X meaning it's twice as extreme. Think about the bikinis that can be rendered with all that next-gen power.
      • Don't worry man, you know DOA: eXtreme Beach Volleyball 2 is going to come out at some point.

        Don't toy with my heart like that. A sequel is too much to hope for.
        • It's possible you are just being your normal funny self, but there actually is a sequel to DOAXBV coming to X360. It will apparently also have at least one more sport in it, so the title won't have "volleyball" in it. You can see the (probably temporary) cover for the game in the bottom right of this Japanese ad [xboxyde.com].

  • Not surprising? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by interiot ( 50685 ) on Wednesday November 16, 2005 @05:20PM (#14047273) Homepage
    The original XBox did quite poorly in sales in Japan, for a variety of reasons. Obviously MS is hoping to do better with the XBox 360 (eg. smaller footprint, launch in US and Japan at the same time, many more japanese publishers signed on), but one would naturally assume that backwards compatibility for the 360 isn't very valued by consumers in Japan, compared to the US. As such, it's only logical for MS to spend less money on that.
  • None of the Burnout games are on the US compatibility list.
    • Not yet anyway. More games will be supported post-launch as their emulators are finished, then you can download them either via Xbox Live or from Microsoft and put them on a CD to update the Xbox's emulator.
  • As an American gamer, I'm pissed...

    Why did Microsoft go to such great lengths to get all of the original Xbox games that sold well in Japan to have emulation on the 360, while there are numerous popular American releases that are not playable on the 360? :)

    Kormac
  • If you don't have enough room next to your TV for an xbox and a 360 then you probably can't afford a 360 anyway...

    • Re:Moot point (Score:5, Funny)

      by Golias ( 176380 ) on Wednesday November 16, 2005 @05:34PM (#14047396)
      If you don't have enough room next to your TV for an xbox and a 360 then you probably can't afford a 360 anyway...

      Hello? We're talking about Japan here. They probably turned the case of their old X-Box into a hide-a-bed for visiting relatives.

    • Re:Moot point (Score:5, Insightful)

      by buffer-overflowed ( 588867 ) on Wednesday November 16, 2005 @05:43PM (#14047467) Journal
      Heh. This is japan, where everywhere has the land value of manhattan(or more) and space is at a premium. Plus, a 360 is only $400. Living anywhere in the US where cost is high and space is low, that's peanuts compared to what your rent would be.

      There are numerous reasons why a good month for the XBox in Japan was 4-digit sales figures, and size was one of them.
      • Not only that, the X360 is much cheaper in Japan than in the US. I don't recall the exact number but I think it was 324$ for the Arm version (not the crippled Core one, that one's probably even cheaper).
  • I guess I don't understand how they wil be adding support "later". Are they planning on issuing a patch you need to download via the broadband?

    Or is this simply a case of them not "certifying" the games yet?

    • Yes, you will be able to update the emulator via Xbox Live, whenever they add support for more titles.

      Plus, I've read that MS will release updates via xbox.com , that you'll be able to burn to a CD, which you can then pop into the 360 and it'll update for you.
  • I have many colleagues and friends in Japan and the word on the 360... none, there is none. They could care less, and many see MS pandering to them as an insult and even despise the system. They see it for what it is, a bloated, expensive, doo-dad with no real history or substance. I can't argue with them.

    The thing is though that MS NEEDS japan or they basically can throw in the towel now. They know it, its killing them and they showed it in their latest stock talks. This type of thing is another nail in th
    • I disagree with this statement. The buzz for the Xbox360 has been such that people that had never heard of an Xbox before are at least knowledgeable of the brand.

      It's currently impossible to go into any place that sells video games without seeing the ubiquitous Xbox360 lineup brochures. There are numerous Xbox360 commercials on TV, etc.

      Whether or not this will relate to a successful release in Japan is up in the air, but at least now people are aware of this thing called the Xbox360, whereas before I told p
    • Your friends and colleagues represent.. themselves, I'd say, and thats about it.

      The XBox 360 is getting a *lot* of visibility in both the regular media, and in IT/gaming media. As the other poster mentioned, posters and advertising is abundant, especially in gaming shops and places like Akihabara.
      Since pre-ordering started nearly everytime I've been in a shop offering them(quite a lot in the last month or so) I've seen people here pre-ordering them.

      Grammar nazi note - "They could care less"? You're saying t
      • The XBox 360 is getting a *lot* of visibility in both the regular media, and in IT/gaming media. As the other poster mentioned, posters and advertising is abundant, especially in gaming shops and places like Akihabara.

        Note that this was true of the original Xbox as well.

        Note also that Japan is more than Akihabara. I don't know if you're a westerner in Japan or a native Japanese, but a lot of westerners seem to think that the entire nation of Japan visits Akihabara to buy their electronics. I'm not sure wh
        • So what you're saying is that, your antecdotal evidence is better than his anecdotal evidence because you guessed right about one number four years ago. That seems to sum up the entire content of your post.
          • Except my "antecdotal" evidence is based on the FACT that *I* personally was an *Industry Analyst* in the videogame industry. I specialized in Japan and Europe trends, figures, and projections. I'm not talking to aunt Sally in Japan... I'm talking to majorly informed professionals who work in the videogame industry.

            Say what you will, in a few months you will see quite clearly that what I stated is spot-on. No sense in arguing with you about it, you *obviously* know something I and many other's do not...
            • Huh? So your anecdotal evidence is somehow better because it comes from anecdotal evidence from some other people you knew in the industry? Have they done surveys across the country to see if people have heard of the Xbox 360? If not then how is their information any better than others?
              I'm in the industry too, have been watching the local media coverage as well as just paying attention to what I see every day, and from what I've seen saying the Xbox 360 "doesn't exist to Japanese" is just BS.
              Speaking to 'au
        • Note that I said places *like* Akihabara - other cities such as Osaka and Fukuoka have their own electrical goods districts.
          I don't know why you got this fixation on Akihabara when I only mentioned it once. Yes, Japan has a population of 125million or so - but don't forget more than 10% of that is in the Tokyo area.
          No, I don't think most Japanese buy their stuff from Akiba - most buy from the large electrical retail chains such as Yodobashi Camera, Yamada Denki, Kojima etc. These places are far more common
  • ...for those few Japanese gamers whose appartment is large enough to accommodate an Xbox.

  • Um (Score:2, Funny)

    by Premo_Maggot ( 864012 )
    People in Japan are buying Xbox 360's???
  • ...earlier this year I saw Xboxen for around $60. I believe some places will try to sell you a Saturn for that much. Presumably the price is now even lower, and will be lower still when the 360 actually comes out. So, anyone who wants to play all of the old Xbox games will be able to do so for less than the cost of a nice tshirt there (ie 30 bucks). Slashdot Japan isn't even listing this as news. Then again, Slashdot Japan is about as big as the Xbox over there...

  • It's enough (Score:3, Funny)

    by bonzoesc ( 155812 ) on Thursday November 17, 2005 @11:11AM (#14052300) Homepage
    12 games, that's one game for every Xbox sold in Japan!

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