Does the 360 need Japan?

[Lord N]

Microsoft's billions of dollars of red ink probably doesn't have as much to do with hardware sales. It's also caused by the fact that they spend more on advertising and on buying development studios and paying for exclusive titles and content. They probably paid a good amount for Blue Dragon and Eternal Sonata, but given their poor sales, they probably didn't get a decent return on their investment. Same goes for their purchase of Rare.

Does the 360 need Japan? Hell yes. It's a very large market where over 25 million consoles were sold last gen. The 360 certainly isn't going to have a shot at #1 doing decently in only one territory. The PS3 is still outselling the 360 in Japan, and that's in spite of Blue Dragon and Eternal Sonata.

MS has sold 10 million 360's in two years, 2/3 of which are in N. America. It could have a hell of a lot more than this if not for its poor performance in Japan(and Europe, but that's another thread), and it would have had a better chance of protecting its lead instead of being on the verge of falling behing the Wii. The 360 has(roughly) the same lead over the PS3 in N. America that it did a year ago. The PS3 outsold it in N. America in July, and it looks like their sales won't be that far apart for August. If they remain virtually even for the rest of the gen and the PS3 outsells it Europe(which it probably will as the PS3 is outselling the 360 there with no price cut) and sells 5-10 million in Europe, then the 360 is in last place.