Microsoft hasn't given up on Japanese Xbox fans
Microsoft is still staunchly standing byt the Xbox 360 in Japan, despite its ongoing struggle to gain market share.
"Of course we're not pulling out. Japan remains important to us. We're very committed to that market," Xbox's European chief, Chris Lewis, told Eurogamer.
“The development community there is very important. Tokyo Game Show will be a notable element in the year as usual.”
Having reaffirmed the company's commitment, Lewis graciously conceded it's not all sunshine and bunnies for Microsoft in Japan.
“It's a challenging market. We are up against very strong competition there. All of our competition is strong," he said.
"We're very respectful of what Sony and Nintendo do and where they've come from and what they bring."
But Xbox still has cards to play, and Lewis noted that Nintendo had done Microsoft a favour by popularising motion control
"We've leapfrogged that handheld technology with Kinect. What we're seeing is users love using their own body without worrying about how to work a controller. We've enjoyed fabulous success with Kinect," the executive said.
The discussion was presumably a response to widespread reports that Japanese retail is backing off from the Xbox 360.
Thanks, IndustryGamers.