After looking at the numbers in more depth, I think Microsoft can see boosts next year in Japan with Halo Reach (combined with the exposure the series gets with the Halo anime, which is Japanese-produced), Alan Wake, Fable III and possibly Crackdown 2. Western games are more popular over in Japan than we give them credit for. CoD 4 selling 350k in Japan across Ps360 is like a Ps360 game selling 1.4m in NA and GTA4 selling 420k in Japan across Ps360 is like a Ps360 game selling 1.7m in NA. The home console market in Japan is 4X smaller than in North America. We have to keep that in mind when looking at Japanese vs. North American numbers. GTA4 is to Japan what SF4 is to North America if you take into account differences in home console market size. I`d say that`s pretty damn good. GTA4 is no. 11 the PS3 LTD in Japan and CoD4 is roughly tied at no. 19 on the PS3 LTD with Valkyria Chronicles.
Of course M$ should release more Japanese first-party games. But it sure would be nice for them if their western games move hardware. It`s much cheaper to market western games and their Halo anime (produced in Japan, not western-made) than to publish a new game from scratch so if the western games move hardware, that gives M$ more financial relief. They really badly need new first-party Japanese IPs in the pipeline though. Along with Blue Dragon 2 and Lost Odyssey 2. Infinite Undiscovery 2 probably wouldnt be worth the effort unless the series was well-received by Japanese gamers. Famitsu gave it 32 out of 40. Which is kinda low for a game that was bundled with 360s at launch and was supposed to live up to higher expectations.
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