The Xbox 360, to put it mildly, hasn't fared terribly well in Japan thus far. Routinely selling only a couple thousand units every week, the 360 needs a serious kick in the pants if Microsoft hopes to make even a modest dent in the Japanese market. For this reason, it's heartening to see an Xbox 360 game claw its way to the top of the Amazon Japan bestseller list. The game in question is the Namco Bandai RPG Eternal Sonata, known as Trusty Bell in Japan. It would seem that demand has crescendoed (get it?) before the game's launch, slated for June 14 according to Amazon Japan. Granted, Amazon is a fickle beast. The number one bestseller could change next week, tomorrow, or even in a couple of hours, but it's nice to see a 360 title beat out the PS2 and even the mighty DS.
The only question now: does Eternal Sonata have the power to sell Xbox 360s in Japan? We'll know soon enough.
[Thanks, alesul]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-05-2007 @ 10:05AM
Jonah Falcon said...
Eternal Sonata is one of the best looking games I've ever seen - I can't wait for US release.
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6-05-2007 @ 10:28AM
Ithilis said...
Agreed. I'm a die-hard RPG fan, and I have been waiting for a good one to drop on the 360 for a while now. If this, Blue Dragon, Mass Effect and the host of others on the horizon turn out to be solid, I won't regret my decision to buy a 360 at all.
Does the 360 have more RPG releases than the PS3 this year?
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6-05-2007 @ 10:52AM
Shadow-MKII said...
I'm really looking forward to this very Star Ocean which I love. Hopefully they will announce a European launch date!
Althou the RPG scene on the 360 is looking rather interesting...
Blue Dragon
Eternal Sonata
Mass Effect
The Last Remnant
Lost Odyssey
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6-05-2007 @ 11:34AM
VampireHunter Z said...
Since Blue Dragon isn't here in the US yet I don't expect to see this game for a while. But once the RPGs start releasing we will get a really good flow. I'm mostly looking forward to Lost Odyssey though will get all the others listed by Shadow-MKII.
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6-05-2007 @ 11:36AM
hoos30 said...
How do you say, "meaningless" in Japanese? Amazon lists are worthless for gauging overall popularity. All 13,000 360 owners in Japan will buy Eternal Sonata on launch day and then they will never sell another copy.
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6-05-2007 @ 1:06PM
aZTEKv2 said...
This game is AWESOME!
I used my japanese xbox live account to download the demo of this, a very long enjoyable demo by the way.
I am getting this when it is released in the US!
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6-05-2007 @ 3:45PM
russny said...
Even before I played the demo I knew this was going to be a must-buy title for me. Can't wait!
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