Microsoft take on Wii, PS in Japan
Tokyo, February 5, 2008 The entry-level offering goes on sale March 6 for about $260 -
about a fifth less than the least expensive Xbox 360 now costs in
Japan. The stripped-down version went on sale in the U.S. late last
year for $279.99.
The Xbox 360 has been struggling in Japan against rival products
the Wii and PlayStation 3 from Japanese manufacturers Nintendo Co.
and Sony Corp., respectively.
Microsoft doesn't give a regional breakdown but says it has sold
17.7 million Xbox 360 machines globally so far.
Nintendo has already sold more than 20 million of the newer Wii
worldwide, wooing newcomers, including women and the elderly, with
easier-to-play games and a game controller that directs on-screen
movements in part by being moved around itself.
Sony has sold 10.5 million PS3 machines worldwide.
Wii and PS3 both went on sale about the same time in late 2006,
a year after the launch of the Xbox 360.
Tokyo-based Enterbrain, which publishes game magazines and
tracks video game sales, says only 257,800 Xbox 360 consoles were
sold in Japan last year, in contrast to 1.2 million PS3s and 3.6
million Wiis.
