1. Hurry up with a white smaller 360 that is not riddled with RRoD issues.
2. Keep the JRPG games coming and don't be afraid to copy Nintendo style minigames.
3. Along w/ number 1, the price should be $50 cheaper than the Wii at least.

oh and for my quick, trollish comment....
Throw in a free DS Lite with an xbox skin.

Need to change the name. The "XBox" name has to go.

Need to market towards Japan's tastes/cultutre/style. Remember the original XBox controllers? MS had aimed for North American hands and made smaller ones for Japan. Yikes.

Japanese-appealing games. The "Shooters and Sports games" stereotype will weigh the XBox down unless they make these games cool, or introduce other types of games.

remember X in Japan = bad and no so the Xbox name instead of being considered a trendy name just says it's the BadBox or NoBox. It really needs to be renamed in Japan like SEGA and Nintendo did their consoles originally. (Famicom vs NES; Master System vs Genesis)

MS should give a Wii for free bundled wich each x360...seriously i think MS has to continue with his strategy (big exclusives that match japanese tastes) and eventually, when a "critical mass" of games is achieved, x360 will start selling at decent rates (less than Wii and PS3 but i think that 10k-15k per week is possible given the right circumstances...i'm quite confident about this).

Honestly I think Microsoft is doing the right things in Japan it will just take time for sales to increase. I have never bought the argument that you need to fill a console with shovel ware, or the idea that a single game will make or break a console. The situation is cumulative.

That said slowly increasing their exclusive content for Japan will help eventually. The fact that they are honoring backwards compatibility should also help in the long run. They will probably be able to garner more multi platform games as long as they can outperform Sony in the other markets. One is a given the other is neck and neck. However developers in Japan do have a mind to export their goods.

Time is the only factor really. With time they can get name brand recognition, and reduce the foreign stigma. With time they can finally fill out their library to make it more compelling. Honestly they seem to be putting stronger effort in their library then Nintendo has, or Sony has yet to accomplish. They have even tackled the reliability with their extended warranty.

I think the system is in a position to capture some market share in a few months. They just need a few more games to attract the gamers. What I think would help is for them to manage a more consistent release schedule. The games that should sell the market on their product should be spread out, and timed better. One solid title a month should build a better impression, and greater demand. Releasing two or three appealing games at the exact same time allows for the console to be forgotten.

Change it from X-box to (whatever sounds good in japanese)-box
redesign the system for japan. cut the price by 1/2. secure 3 or more really good Japanese oriented games for the "launch" of this new system.

The first Xbox came packaged with every idea of America that Japanese people hate - big, ugly (to their style), inefficient, militarism (tons of FPS war games), George Bush (kidding, kidding). Its like trying to sell a Ford or Chevy pickup to them - it just doesn't work.

I think there is alot of post-traumatic stress resulting from the first box. MS should change the name or even partner up with Toshiba to rebrand it over there (like some of the rumors). Like people said, "X" does mean wrong, incorrect, bad, etc. "Box" is not exactly the most appealing either - it suggests lack of style.

For the Xbox 720, they should pay attention to the style. The 360 still looks and sounds like a Dell computer. The Wii (I borrowed my friend's for a week) and PS3 look really nice in my entertainment center. The 360 looks a little trashy and cheap, IMO.

if they get dragon quest then that will help alot

The key to winning Japan is Japanese developers. Microsoft must use the same mentality that Nintendo did back in the day. Games sell the console, not the hardware. With a strong Japanese third party Developer, such as Square Enix, to support them with JRPG's and it's possible that Microsoft could stand their ground in a territory that has completely different tastes.