Can Ace Combat 6 Save Xbox 360 in Japan?

What's the Xbox 360 game Japan is looking forward to? Less Halo 3, more Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation. Just check out the above pre-order display that shows AC6 all big and other games all regular. The Namco series has a big following in The Land of the Rising Sun, and since the latest entry is a 360 exclusive, Ace Combat 6 might shift a few consoles for Microsoft.

[chasegamez]

they better make a voltron game
or some big robot game

[toughNAME]

i think MS shud just call it quits
focus on other places

i hope MS eventually does this...im sick of developers spending so much time on these cheap japanese games that arent even appreciated

[nobizlikesnowbiz]

Ace Combat will probably be great. Why would it be bad? All previous Ace Combats were on Ps1 & 2. Some Japanese kids might buy 360's for it.

360 need all the help it can get over there. Though I doubt it had a chance. We all know how the Japanese consumer as a whole are.

[toughNAME]

im not saying its bad

the demo was pretty good (except the ground..)

im just saying why does MS keep trying (and failing) in Japan?
focus somewhere else

i dunno i just think MS is wasting their time

[Maddens Raiders]

Voltron sux. Blue Dragon can't even save it there.

But wait that's because Japanese are racist (against substandard consoles).

[chrno]

I hope you are being sarcastic when u said the japanese are racists lol.

[Lord Anubis]

as usual Microsoft banks on existing franchises and single titles to save them. There's absolutely no reason for a japanese to get the X360 if there's only a handful of titles they can enjoy. Xbox wasn't for them and X360 isn't for them either. Microsoft needs more than a few titles to save them, they need a stream of new franchises that are appealing to Japanese gamers.

[Fighter]

It will sell more once the PS3 version is released after a few months from the 360 launch.

[chasegamez]

Ace Combat is not needed

[ktchong]

I believe Microsoft has also paid money to buy exclusives from Namco, and I think Eternal Sonata (or Trusty Bell in Japan) and Ace Combat 6 are two of the titles Microsoft has bought from Namco for Xbox 360 exclusives.

Just so you know, when I told you guys that I had good reasons to suspect that Microsoft has bought BioShock as an exclusive, which is included in the $50 mil Microsoft made to Take Two, Sony fanboys would not believe me. That's before 2K's Levine finally admitted in an interview that Microsoft has an exclusive deal for BioShock.

[Loudninja]

But, its coming to the PS3 as well.

[Fighter]

Too bad that will never happen unless Microsoft pays them a lot of ca$h. I'm talking in the Billions but if that happens then Sony will also bid for it because that franchise is very, very important.

[ktchong]

because Sony has exclusive deals for them.

But they don't matter in the American market. Final Fantasy's popularity has been in decline in the North American market. In America, Oblivion (a Western RPG) has outsold FF12 (a Eastern/Japanese RPG) in the US market by a wide 3:1 margin. Also, Halo 2 (which sold 8 million copies) actually outsold MGS2 (7 million copies) by a slim margin (1 million copies.)

In fact, Japanese games - which were popular in America back in the mid-to-late 1990s and early 200s - have been waning in popularity in the US. The taste of the mainstream gamers in American are becoming more and more different from the taste of Japanese gamers, and it's becoming increasing difficult for Western games or Japanese games to cross-market to the different audience.

Oblivion - 3 mil in NA: http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

FFXII - 1.3 mil in NA: http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

Halo 2 - 8 mil worldwide: http://money.cnn.com/2006/0...

MGS2 - 7 mil worldwide: http://contactmusic.com/new...

Even if Xbox 360 gets MGS4 and FFXIII, those titles will NOT help 360 in Japan... because PS3 also has them, and the price of PS3 is actually about the same with Xbox 360 in Japan. Why would Japanese buy Xbox 360 to play MGS4 and FFXIII when they can buy PS3 for the same price?

[Fan Tastic]

The 360 is the most defective console in history. People will not forgot how badly they were burned by MS this round.

[zantetsuken]

Only one game could save MS, but Sony holds the publishing rights to it, FF VII.

[Bathyj]

Not if it came with an actual fighter jet.

[Trick Nolte]

This is one of those trick questions. My IQ is too high to fall for this one.

[greed]

hey to the round peg actually ff12 sold over 5 mill when i saw it last and i think that was a few months ago so i would guess it has sold roughly around 7 mill to date; i don't believe that oblivion has sold more.

[Marty8370]

Not even Final Fantasy XIII or MGS4 would help 360 in Japan. lol

[kr0n0s187]

their to busy playin there ds to care

[Shaka2K6]

In Japan.

[rev20]

no.

[stonedog]

The Japanese market is difficult for M$ to crack as the japanese are very resistent to buying foreign products. So unless M$ is virtually giving the machine away they are always going to have rough ride.

[BISHOP-BRASIL]

Ace Combat 6is coming after for PS3? Somebody has a confirmation? I love this game, but will not buy a 360 just for it and Bioshock...

Anyway, this is the 3rd or 4th time I heard this "Save Xbox 360 in Japan" thing... Japanese people just don't want the 360. Get over it.

[WilliamRLBaker]

and it doesn't need too. Japan no longer dictates the gaming habits of the rest of the world.

[ParaDise_LosT]

Xbox has no chance in Japan...even I know this..
but games like Lost Odyssey,Ace Combat and Infinite Undiscoveries..
It should get by....
If Lost Odyssey gets as much press and hype in japan as FFXIII(which I know will Never happen) then they will have a chance...

[THE_JUDGE]

thats a funny headline. The Land of Rising Sun obviously doesn't care about the 360 or it would have picked one up already.