Xbox One set for September 4 release in Japan

By Will Fulton April 23, 2014

xbox one receive september 4 release japan oen — Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Xbox One will be released on Thursday, September 4 in Japan, Microsoft announced today. The company also revealed a list of games that will be coming to Japan, including already-released titles like Dead Rising 3 and Titanfall and upcoming games like Watch Dogs, Sunset Overdrive, and Final Fantasy XV.

The Xbox One was first released on November 13, 2013 in 13 regions across North and South America, Europe, and Australia, eight years after the Xbox 360 launched. Microsoft previously released a list of 26 countries set to receive the new console in September, but the announcement today only pertains to Japan. News of the other regions is presumably forthcoming.

Despite generally strong sales, particularly of its flagship title, Titanfall, the Xbox One still lags behind Sony’s PlayStation 4 in overall sales worldwide. The impending launch in Japan in particular is doubly foreboding because of the Xbox 360’s tortured history of struggling sales in the country. Lifetime sales for the Xbox One’s predecessor have been reported at around 1.65 million in Japan, versus the commanding lead of 9.8 million held by the PlayStation 3.

Nevertheless, 48 game developers have pledged their support for the Xbox One in Japan, including Square Enix, Konami, and Capcom, so Microsoft executives are no doubt hopeful that their new console will pull out an underdog victory and revitalize the company’s foothold in the land of the rising sun.

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Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…

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