And so we come full circle. Around this time a year earlier, I found myself in the same place. Tromping through Den-Den Town, curious to see just how Microsoft's next gen console would do in Japan. In short, it bombed.

Now, I'm moving towards Ota-Road (short for Otaku Road). That's a back street off the main drag. Lined with capsule figure shops, doujin soft retailers and, of course, Sofmap Zaurus. It was at this shop a year earlier I hit at the crack of dawn, hoping to find others, hoping to find something, only to end up alone.

It's gray, overcast. Two young women pass. One is wearing glasses. The other is wearing all white and high-heeled boots. White as well. Down the street, there's movement in front of Sofmap. It's a little past 10 am, and the store won't open for another hour. And it looks like I'm not alone. There is a line.

A line of trucks. They are loading old furniture from the adjacent store. It's difficult to see the pillars in front of Sofmap—pillars wrapped with the Xbox 360 for the console's ill-fated Japan launch. Once again, I am alone.

Three canned coffees and ten minutes later, the second customer shows up. I'm the first. He's wearing a dark gray jacket and now digging furiously through his bag. We kinda wait there for what seems like an eternity, when another young woman in a knit cap saunters by, male companion in tow.

They slice through the trucks in front of Sofmap. I follow. There's an employee out front. They're talking, chit-chat, real friendly-like.

"You open at 11, right?" I confirm.
"That's correct," he answers, wearing a Sofmap windbreaker.

I've got time, so I take a walk.

Okay, so we have about a half an hour until the biggest 360 game aimed directly at Japan, a game with a Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest pedigree, and so far, it's just me, some dude in a gray jacket, a woman in a knit hat and her boy-toy. In Microsoft's defense, it's a weekday. People have jobs, lives. Though, I have seen hundreds of people line up in front of this very store for a DS Lite. Children, too. On a weekday.

I peak into Osaka's Gundam by Joshin. In the doorway, there's an enormous Gundam statue. Costs something like 315,000 yen (approx. US $3,000). The retailer has posted signs clearly prohibiting photography in shop. I snap a photo from the street.

There's a Blue Dragon capsule machine. I think about buying another capsule toy, but don't and check my watch. Hours earlier, the game launched in Tokyo. At the Yodobashi Camera in Akihabara, 180 people turned up. There was a countdown, loads of Blue Dragon core packs to be bought, and a model from the popular women's magazine CanCam, who admitted to never playing a 360 before.

Another store front. Down the street. Glazed eyes watch a trailer for the PS2 game Gundam Seed Destiny Rengou VS ZAFT II PLUS.

That's when I see her. The Woman In White comes swinging down Ota Road, making a beeline for Sofmap.

Where she meets up with her gaggle of waiting friends, who now include Knit Cap. I notice that the line has grown. Slightly.

A figure appears between the trucks and calls the gaggle over. They click clack over. Heels and all. They then move out of sight. From under the trucks, I can see their boots.

That and a notice for Ryu Ga Gotoku 2 ("Yakuza 2"). The game goes on sale today. Blue Dragon has competition.

I turn to the second consumer.

"What are you waiting for? Blue Dragon?"
"No."
His face is dry, skin, purple.
"Ryu Ga Gotoku 2?"
"Actually, Gundam Seed Destiny Rengou VS ZAFT II PLUS."
White flakes make his glasses look like snow globes.
"The PS2 game?"

Ryu Ga Gotoku 2 has competition.

It's less than 15 minutes before. That's when it happens, they trickle in. Fast.

Yet, just as with the Xbox 360 launch, nobody actually stands behind this whatchamacallit.

The line goes from a handful to two handfuls to an actual line.

The gaggle of girls returns, all wearing white. White and blue. Sega blue. They're campaign girls, here to help promote Yakuza 2.

A man in a Sofmap windbreaker comes out, announces the store is open for business, and we all press in. Another employee (nondescript, wearing a windbreaker as well) goes up and down the line passing out game software. He's passing out the Gundam title.

Everyone here, it seems, is here for Gundam.

I find a spot facing the register. Not in line. And snap a photo. The nondescript employee in a windbreaker comes over, says nothing and waves his hand at me. O-K. For a moment, I actually think of saying something to him. Telling him that he's being impolite. But, I hold my tongue.

Customers file through and most appear to be getting this new Gundam game. Blue Dragon sittings are there, but few and far between. The game is competing with Gundam. And not just Gundam, but Gundam on a console everybody ones. Taking out a pen and a scrap of paper, I start taking note of what people are buying. This continues until I get to:

Gundam Seed Destiny Rengou VS ZAFT II PLUS: 12 copies sold.
Ryu Ga Gotoku 2: 3 copies sold.
Blue Dragon: 4 copies.

"No writing!" Nondescript tells me in flat English. He's snuck up.
"What?" I ask. Taken a back.
"No writing."
"What do you mean, I can't write?" I reply in Japanese.
"You can't take notes in this store" he switches to Japanese as well.
"Huh?"

He's serious as a heart attack.

"That's crazy," I continue.
"We don't want you to write down the price of games. What are you doing here?"
"I'm getting ready to buy Blue Dragon."

Okay, at this point, this guy's probably thinks he's intimidated me. And that I'll apologize, end of story. While I'll be the first to admit my Japanese isn't perfect. Arguing, that I can do. I'm married. To an Osaka girl. And so, it starts:

"Do you realize I am a customer? Is this how you treat all your customers?"
"Look, sir, you can't take notes."
"That's insane. Where is it written that you can't take notes? Where? First you come up here and wave your hand around and now this?"
"Wave my hand?"
"Yeah, you came over here and waved your hand and didn't say anything. If you didn't want me to take any photos, then tell me. With words. Not idiotic gestures. That's rude."
"It's more rude that you were taking pictures," the staffer says.
"How is that rude?"
"It disturbs other customers."
"What are we doing now? We're disturbing customers. And all because of you," I say.

It's dead silent in the store. Nobody is looking at us. It's like we don't exist, like we're in a private room. But, not.

"Photography is not allowed."
"Where is that written?"
"Written?"
"On a sign. Written on a sign," I say.
"It's prohibited."
"Show me."
"This is about having manners."
"It's not written. If you don't want people to take pictures in the store write it down. You have signs telling people the DS Lite is sold out. Do the same for no photography. "
"In Japan—" he begins.
"No, Japan has nothing to do with it. Write. It. Down."
"We're not going to write it down."
"Then don't tell me not to take pictures. And know that other people have taken pictures in this store and will continue to do so."
"Sir, can you get in line then? This isn't part of the line."
"If you want me to line up, that's fine. I will do that. But telling me not to write things down? That's moronic."

I get at the back of the line. Nondescript makes his way down the line, passing out copies of Gundam. He's a few feet in front of me.

Me: "Apologize."
"What?"
"You heard me. Apologize."
"It's okay."
He smiles and actually tries to pat me on the back.
"No. It's not. Apologize. I'm also a customer. And you were acting like an idiot. Is your manager here? Oh, wait, let me guess. No. He's busy."

He looks at me for a moment, then continues passing out copies of Gundam. My hands are shaking and my veins flooding. I make my way to the counter. I ask for a copy of Blue Dragon, hand the man my credit card and exit Sofmap.

Sega girls greet me outside. There's a table full of Ryu Ga Gotoku 2 goodies. Stuff, I don't need or want right now. But I ask anyway:

"How can I win this?"
"Did you buy a copy of Ryu Ga Gotoku 2?" a man in a Sega jacket says.
"Unfortunately not."
"It's only for customers who buy the game."
"Ah, I see. I've played the game. It was pretty good."

He asks me if I got a hands on at the Osaka Games Festa, and I say it was at a publicity event a month or so back. Must be bored, because the guy in the Sega jacket keeps talking.

"So do you think that if Ryu Ga Gotoku 2 is released in America, they'll screw it up again with dopey voice acting?"
He laughs.
"I don't know. That's not my market. I know the Japanese market. And Sega of America knows the American market."
"They do?"
He laughs again.
"You're probably just saying that because you live in Japan and are familiar with how the game sounds in Japanese."

We're talking. Just like regular dudes. I tell him that his Sega jacket's pretty cool and he humors me with a photo. For all the horrible things that company has done, like destroying Sonic or not letting me interview Nagoshi or hiring space alien Yuko Ogura, Sega's been there for me. At strange moments.

Up the street is Bic Camera. Bic Camera has the distinction of having the only official Microsoft Xbox 360 employee at its store. The gentleman wears an Xbox 360 vest and is there to answer questions and generally be helpful. Usually, he's arranging things. Like he is now.

"How is Blue Dragon doing?" I venture.
"Sales are brisk." He's happier than usual. He smiles. His teeth are a patchwork of fillings and black.
"Do you know how many copies have been sold?"
He hems and haws, reluctant to tell me.
"I just bought a copy", I show him the game. "Just curious."
"Oh thank you very much." His breath smells of rot.
Then, at this point, the man actually bows.
"Well, I think a little over ten bundles were pre-ordered. We've sold a couple besides that. And around twenty copies of the game itself."
Not bad. The store's been open only an hour and an half.

I board a train and end up in Umeda. Next stop: Yodobashi Camera. The fifth floor is packed, and the PS3 demo kiosk now has a rope to force a line of sorts. Across from it, Sega girls in white boots and blue Sega socks promote Ryu Ga Gotoku 2.

Whenever new games are release at Yodobashi Camera, a good way to gauge how the title is doing is to check the stacks. All the new games are usually placed on the same table for customers to pick up and take to the register. Stacks of popular games are shorter than, let's say, unpopular. That empty space was occupied by Gundam Seed Destiny Rengou VS ZAFT II PLUS.

It's nearing noon. People flood through Umeda Station. I pass where Microsoft had installed a huge Xbox 360 controller statue before launch. Did Blue Dragon conquer Japan? No. Is Microsoft out? No. Not at all. But, a big bit of that iceberg have been chipped away, and the "There are no good games for Japanese gamers" rap is no longer a valid excuse. Full circle, but not quite. Brian Ashcraft