Xbox 360 sales get a shot in the arm in Japan following the release of Microsoft’s new motion controller.
Despite a seeming lack of interest in the device, Kinect has managed to find a larger than expected audience among Japanese gamers. Microsoft was able to sell around 26,000 units in the first two day of availability in Japan, seemingly flying in the face of those who thought it was off to a “rough start.”
26,000 might not sound like a lot, especially not compared to the million units sold in ten days in the US, but Microsoft has had great difficulty in finding a foothold for the Xbox 360 in Japan, so the results are encouraging. Kinect’s launch also gave sales of the console itself a boost, with just over 7,000 Xbox 360s sold, a significant increase over last week’s total of around 2,000.
In comparison, the Wii sold over 27,000 units , the PS3 sold over 29,000 and the top selling of the week, the PSP, sold more than 96,000. But however small it may be, this is still a victory for Microsoft. It could be that Kinect is the product that gets Japanese gamers really interested in the Xbox 360, and it will be interesting to see what effect this will have on sales of the console going forward.
Source: Kotaku
