Kotaku: japan halo 3 launch

Xbox 360? Would You Like A Wii With That?

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 07:00:00 MDT

One of the more curious trends we saw at Yodobashi Akiba this morning for the Halo 3 launch was the attach rate... for Wiis. We weren't looking that hard, but we saw at least three people "jumping in" to the "HD era" while at the same time swimming in the "blue ocean" of "new gen." I couldn't tell you how many middle age gamers—or gamer parents—decided to go Wii60 today, but it was more than I had expected.

Maybe Microsoft should focus more on the 40-year old Japanese housewife market. They seem to be into it. Want more proof? Minor anecdotal evidence (our favorite kind!) right after this.

Looks like some lucky Japanese teen has mom wrapped around his finger. Too bad I was so focused on my mission of finding a Revoltech action figure of Dante for Flynn or I'd have begun a proper survey of Wii60 buyers.

By the way, Wii was in great supply wherever we went. At the duty free version of Sofmap, we must have seen some two dozen stacked up behind the counter. Now only if they could accomplish the same feat in America.

Tempered Halo 3 Japanese Mid-Morning Launch Madness

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 05:00:39 MDT

After cruising up and down the main drag of Akihabara and finding little in the way of lines, we hoofed it back to Yodobashi Akiba to catch up with the manageable crowd. The TV games occupy the sixth floor of the building, so we where wheezing and sweating after a series of intense escalator rides. Surprisingly enough, there was a bit of a morning rush. Throngs? No, but we weren't expecting throngs. Just the presence of hardcore Japanese gamers who have a taste for first person shooters and reject the national opinion of the Xbox.

Yen and Halo 3 limited edition Xbox 360s exchanged hands at a moderate pace, with a handful of gamers simply opting for the game and the Halo 3 branded controllers.

In Japan, the Halo 3 Limited Edition version was the way to go. For an affordable 6270 yen (approximately $55 USD), Japanese gamers get the nice packaging and fan service bonuses with their Japanese voice acted Master Chief. That's a pretty good deal, I'd say.

Most of the transactions, however, we for the Spartan colored console itself. While many gamers were on hand to pick up any number of things, from the day's other releases like Phantasy Star Universe: Ambition of the Illuminus and the recently shipped Tamagotchi no Puchi Puchi Omisecchi: Mina San Kyu, plenty were walking out with big bags packed with Halo 3 stuff.

Flynn, Cheapy D and I had varying estimates on the percentage of those picking up something Halo 3-ish, but we hovered around the twenty percent range.

The checkout line was dense at 9:45, but tapered off to regular morning levels by around 10:30. We'll have to wait for the official Media Create numbers for Halo 3 weekly sales to show up, but while it wasn't madness at any point, the game certainly wasn't ignored.

Sumimasen, Is This The Halo 3 Line?

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 02:30:13 MDT

Okay, Japan, we get it. You don't like Halo anything. This group—about 8 in total—was declaring its presence outside a Taito branded game shop in the heart of Akihabara. We figured this was it. We'd hit the jackpot and that come 10 AM, when the store finally opened, we'd at least get some shots of Akiba nerds rushing the sales clerks and 10,000 yen notes flying. Instead we found out why they were waiting.

The Neon Genesis Evangelion themed pachinko parlor was about to open and it was running some sort of special event that ended today. Crap.

In the meantime, we decided to claim "First!" at a couple more stores.

First! This was MesseVision. We had stopped by the other day, with me picking up copies of the Parodius Collection and Sega Ages: Space Harrier Collection. It had an impressive Halo 3 set up at the register so we'd assumed that would generate some interest. Turn out was low.

First!! We have no idea what the name of this store was, but it was selling "R-Type Tactiks" and no one was in a twenty foot radius, so we claimed the line as our own.

We did, however, make it to the game specific edition of AsoBitCity which had a single line camper. He'd been in the queue of one since 7 AM, waiting for the store to open at 10. Pepijn from the Netherlands was keeping busy with his Nintendo DS while waiting to pick up his third Xbox 360. He was pretty hardcore. Pity he didn't know that Yodobashi Akiba was about to open at 9:30 AM.

The Line For Halo 3 Starts Here

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 01:30:00 MDT

We got up at the crack of dawn this morning to make sure we didn't miss a beat for the Japanese launch of Halo 3. It's rare for Japanese game shops to host a midnight launch of almost anything, even for the big guns like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, so we felt pretty comfortable waiting until the day of to beat feet down to Akiba. After a stinky stroll through the Tsukiji fish market, we ambled on over to Electric Town to take the pulse of Japanese gamers.

Rolling up to the giant Yodobashi Akiba, we were presented with this sign. It tells you where to start the line formation. So what did the line look like 30 minutes before launch?

It looked a lot like me. First! I mean... First, bitches!

Surely, there had to be some hotter action that Yodobashi, and the line was in no danger of swelling, so we decided to creep around a bit. We were also scolded for taking pictures of a metal door by Slouchy the Japanese Security Guard, so we left. Off to AsoBitCity!

Can You Find The Halo 3 Billboard In Akihabara?

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 00:30:00 MDT

Master Chief certainly doesn't have the same influence that other video game heroes do in Japan. He's just another hideously designed robo-man in sea of crappy mecha. This billboard for Halo 3—the only one we've seen in Akihabara during our moments passing from ecchi bookshop to ecchi hobby store—got the same tender loving care we've come to expect from Japan when it comes to the Xbox 360.