Xbox 360 summit held in Japan

IN ITS continuing attempts to woe the Japanese market Microsoft held a major Xbox Summit in Japan earlier today. The summit was basically a showcase for all the major Japanese developers and publishers that Microsoft have reeled in, many from Sony's PlayStation stable, such as Konami, Capcom and Namco.

The latter are providing a big boost for the Xbox 360 with the next instalment in the Ridge Racer series, number five of which was one of the launch titles of the PlayStation 2, will be coming to the Xbox 360 along with other big ‘uns such as Resident Evil 5 - which will also feature on the PS3 - and Final Fantasy XI.

Interestingly enough an awful lot of these Japanese games won't be launch titles for the Xbox 360 but are expected sometime around "Summer 2006" which is, entirely coincidentally, we don't doubt, around the same time as the launch of the PlayStation 3.

Microsoft also reaffirmed that it plans a worldwide launch of the console for Christmas 2005, quashing rumours that the console was to be delayed in Japan into 2006 - sweet irony says us with no PSPs yet - and putting the console back on track for a full worldwide release that will see the Xbox 360 rolled out worldwide within a couple of weeks.

Whether or not Microsoft can woo Japanese gamers is another matter, and for all the glamorous "summits", the proof will be in the pudding this coming Christmas. µ

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