Microsoft Takes Aim at Japanese Market With Role-Playing Games

Xbox 360 sales in Japan have been abysmal so far, but Microsoft is aiming to turn that around with a barrage of role-playing game releases this year.

A slew of Japanese role-playing games are due out in Japan, including those from well-known developers Square-Enix and Namco Bandai.

They are:

• Tales of Vesperia
- August, Japan and North America
• Infinite Undiscovery
- September, worldwide
• Fable 2
- September, North America (TBD, Japan)
• Mass Effect
- TBA, Japan
• The Last Remnant
- December, worldwide
• Star Ocean 4
- TBA 2009, worldwide

Microsoft still faces an uphill battle, however, as it typically only moves a paltry few thousand units of Xbox 360s in Japan each week. Further, the console is heavily associated with first-person shooters, and there is no shortage of role-playing titles on other, far more popular platforms in the country, such as the Nintendo DS handheld and the PlayStation 2.

Source: Ars Technica