Microsoft is extending their family friendly stance to Japan. On December 15, they held a Merry Christmas event at Tokyo Bay. Kids could meet the characters from Viva Piñata and try out a handful of CERO A video games like Beautiful Katamari. Microsoft is trying to capture another niche. This strategy worked well for CERO Z games, which are starting to pick up in Japan. (Contributor's Notes: CERO is the rating system in Japan. CERO A is for all. CERO Z is for ages 18 and up only.)
However, Microsoft faces a problem when it comes to attracting families. Many multiplatform kid's games like Cars never get an Xbox 360 release in Japan. THQ tends to only support the Wii and PlayStation when it comes to Disney games and few Japanese developers are making child friendly exclusives.
Words: Spencer, Siliconera (December 19th, 2007)
Photos: Xbox.com Japan
