Perhaps I miss-read, but isn't this a DUDE working at a gaming store?  A  D-U-D-E...are we going to go out and start getting sales quotes from the gamestop guy now?

'Accredited review sites' have reported on much less.  And often use sources such as their 'friends' and 'podcasts' or 'blogs'.  In this day in age where news media basically reports on any controversy just to try to get attention rather than report actual news, I don't see this as much of a big shock.  Especially if it brings up a particular argument or point they want to make (aka the games they like don't sell in Japan).

Well...my puppy loves Halo ODST, so that game is evidently the best ever!

M$ has still had decent sales though. 1M is alot better than what the regular xbox had. And they never expected to win in japan. They know as well as we do that the japanese have alot of national pride and will pick something made in japan over a western market any day. The 360 is just M$ trying to get its foot in the door which i think it has mostly succeded in. Possibly next gen Microsoft possibly could be a contender

Please, just stop, youre just assuming things without knowing what youre talking about as well as using ONE DUDE as your evidence.

1. Blue Dragon was a huge success for the system in Japan, only a fanboy would argue otherwise. It sold over 200k and pretty much saved the 360 which was selling at 1-2k weekly at the time. Another Blue Dragon could really bolster the image of the system there, which has lost a lot of exclusives. MS arent done with Mistwalker, even LO which didnt get much marketing there, was a quality RPG that can be seen by its consistent lifetime sales ending at a very healthy 110k which even today is a good number.

You can expect them to make another BD and LO and theyll make the most of them, afterall, those are the only major JRPG exclusives theyll ever have at this point.

2. For a long time, the 360s Japanese-centric library was stronger than that of the PS3. That hasnt however convinced everyone to buy the system, but its had its effect. You look at 360 sales up to this point and theyve been very consistent. Since SO4, its been selling between 3-7k, with all sorts of fluctuations.

So thats small right? MS are now on 1.1 million systems AT LEAST, and despite the majority of them owning PS3s and Wiis, it still has a big attach rate.

3. Going onto software sales, despite the numbers being low they are very positive. ToV has sold 200k according to Famitsu, but the most interesting thing is THE SALES WERE CONSISTENT. The first week only accounted for only 50 PER CENT of the total sales. This means that the game up to this point has given the 360 some identity along with other games.

Along with other games? Yeah thats right, many multiplat games on 360 have been very consistent, the main example being RE5 which while it got eclipsed by the PS3 version, it has still sold steadily since then. A good indicator how they will continue to affect the 360 there will be the Warriors and PES series, which before were released in small quantities, but with their next instalments, they will get proper treatment.

Other games like Halo or Gears, or even Fallout 3 and Fable 2, genres that were non-existent in Japan have enjoyed solid sales on the system by ANY standards. Many of those games wouldnt have even sold the same amount of units on the PS2. There are now dozens up dozens of Western games that have made it to the country that wouldve never before, and its attributed to the 360s hardcore appeal there.

4. In other words, multiplats WILL help the 360 there, itll go a long way in buoying sales for a while, though off course this will depend on MS publishing more exclusives because otherwise itll get buried in the PS3s momentum. MS arent done yet, Forza 3 and NNN2 might do some good for this year, and Natal will be their wild card.

5. Niche games are now becoming more and more common, yeah its not the PS2 which gets them weekly, but a lot of quality games are making their way. These games might not seem much, but theyll give the 360 its own image because as of now, theres little to differentiate them from the PS3, and with a weaker brand name people will prefer the other system.

Again, you look at the recent sales of SHMUPs and graphic novels, not only have the had good debuts, but their long term sales have been decent too.

---

Right now, MS have gone toe-to-toe with the PS3 and that simply cant work because of the Sony's brand. However they can position the system well, as a multiplat system, with Natal, with their own exclusives, niche games, and most importantly PRICE.

The original XBOX sold 450k, 300k in its first year, and yet the momentum died because of the PS2s and GCs success, both hardware and software were dead. The 360 on the other hand only sold 100k in its first year, and now its at 1.1 million with STRONG software and hardware sales still going. Its not over for them, and they still have a lot to gain. Yes it can be down to the PS3s library being so weak for a while and the system being too expensive, but theyve still got a following.

Next generation, MS will get it right, theyll never beat Nintendo or Sony, but theyll manage to sell a few million systems.

Its funny that the TC is triyng to pass himself off as not being a fanboy.

The picture is from 2005 = S

I was upset at M$ dedication to Japan, when there were shortages of Xbox 360s in the US, but it's worked out well.  I think M$ realized that this is a marathon, not a sprint, and while there are moments of burst of "sprint" you have to fight this console war as a war of attrition.  M$ never has any chance to win in Japan, at least not in this generation, but they forced Sony to focus on Japan, and dedicate less time to PAL, and even less to NA.  As it stands, every major Japanese developer is working on something for the 360...HUGE as compared to last generation.  So overall, if 360 does 1.5 million in Japan, LTD...great, if it does 2 million, due to Natal...OUTSTANDING, but either way, Xbox is going to be well positioned for the next generation.