Xbox Goes Live in Japan

[Templehorn]

Xbox online service set for Japan
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<BR>MAKUHARI, Japan, Sept 20 — U.S. software giant Microsoft Corp. said Friday it would launch an online game service for its Xbox video game machine in Japan on January 16, 2003, firing up competition with its Japanese rivals
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<BR> “OUR GOAL IS TO make Xbox the most popular platform to play online games,” Hirohisa Ohura, Microsoft Japan’s managing director in charge of Xbox operations, told Reuters. “We believe the service will likely encourage people to buy Xbox.”
<BR> Microsoft also unveiled five new software titles at the Tokyo Game Show which kicked off on Friday and showcased 18 games, including two online games for Xbox Live. (MSNBC is a Microsoft-NBC joint venture.)
<BR> The Japan launch, which was slightly later than expected, would follow the planned debut of the “Xbox Live” online game service in the United States on November 15, the Xbox game console’s first anniversary.
<BR> Ohura said Microsoft would run a trial with 5,000 players for two months, instead of one month as initially planned, to make sure its networks worked properly.
<BR> So far, more than 5,000 people have applied for it, hoping to play games over the Internet with an Xbox machine armed with a built-in hard drive and an Ethernet port, he said.
<BR> The service will cost players 6,800 yen ($55.9<IMG SRC="images/forum/icons/icon_cool.gif">, which includes 12-months’ access fee and equipment for voice communications with other players.
<BR> Microsoft’s rival, Sony Corp, has already begun selling network adaptors for its PlayStation 2, while Nintendo Co Ltd plans to release a similar device for its GameCube in October in Japan.
<BR> But Microsoft appears to be the most aggressive online game service provider.
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<BR> While Sony or Nintendo let game publishers run the game Web sites, Microsoft has invested heavily to set up its proprietary service, running its own Internet servers and setting up its own billing systems.
<BR> “We know that online gaming requires a long-term commitment,” said Ohura, who declined to give its Xbox Live subscribers target or to comment on when the business would break even.
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<BR>NEW FRONTIER
<BR> Microsoft is pinning its hopes on virtual gaming services to stir up demand for its black box with a green “X” logo and see off tough competition in the backyard of Sony and Nintendo.
<BR> Famitsu, a Japanese game magazine, said Microsoft had sold 274,000 Xboxes since its Japanese launch on February 22, falling behind GameCube which has sold 1.565 million units since its Japanese debut on September 14 last year.
<BR> Sony said on Thursday that it had shipped a total 40 million units of PlayStation 2 globally, of which about 11 million have been shipped on its home turf since March 4, 2000.
<BR> Ohura said Microsoft would aim to ship one million Xboxes as early as possible, although he did not give a specific time frame for this goal.
<BR> “If we can reach that point, third-party game developers can start generating profits,” he said.
<BR> Ohura also said Microsoft had no plans to cut the price of the Xbox, but it was ready to do so if its rivals initiated another round of price reductions.
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<BR> Game Time
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<BR> “If our competitors cut their console prices, we would match that for sure,” Ohura said.
<BR> At the game show, where 85 participants boast nearly 500 game software titles, Microsoft displayed its two online games, “True Fantasy Live Online” and “Fishing Live Online.”
<BR> Although online games are still seen as a risky business, Japanese makers are gearing up for a new battle over this new frontier of video game.
<BR> Capcom Co Ltd rolled out racing and fighting online games in 2000 for dial-up connections on PlayStation 2 and plans to offer its “Tekki” fighting game for Xbox Live.
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<BR> Sega also started offering its role-playing mainstay “Phantasy Star Online” games for Nintendo’s GameCube earlier this month in Japan. The game will be available for Xbox Live.
<BR> Nomura Research Institute has estimated the online game market in Japan will grow nearly eight times to 271 billion yen in 2006 from 35 billion yen in 2001.
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[Jared]

X-Box in Japan needs all the help it can get. When I was over there this summer, ALL i saw in gaming stores was PS2s and PS2 games....there was some GC stuff, but not as much. As for the X-Box...it was as if it didn´t exist.
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<BR>I wonder if the X-Box is gonna go the way of the 3DO in Japan.
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<BR>jared