After an adventurous flight to Tokyo, we landed in the Daitabashi office amidst a sense of excitement, nervousness, and the thrill of accomplishment mixed with the trepidation of paranoia.
In a matter of hours (and after much hurried discussion) the messaging was done. The Q&A was finalized. The event was in place. Peter and Maruyama-san met with key media the day before launch, front-loading the flood of coverage. Soon, the consumers were in line. And the console was ready to ship to thousands of eagerly waiting Japanese consumers.
When Maruyama-san took the stage inside the TSUTAYA Q Front retail store, it was to the sound of a hundred eager gamers chanting his name. When Peter Moore took the stage shortly after, it was to the chant of his name, and resounding applause. When he uttered the words “Xbox San Roku Maru” (“Xbox three sixty” in Japanese) the crowd roared. The first consumer in line took the stage, and told his story of how he came to the store late last night to get his number indicating his place in line, and since his office was so close by, he simply stayed there for the evening, coming to stand in line at 4am in the morning to insure his purchase. By 5am, after the train lines opened up for the day, the line stretched alongside the building and around the corner into the next block, enthusiastic gamers huddled against the cold and eying the Starbucks shop standing mocking and empty before them (7am is FAR too late for any coffee shop, especially a Starbucks, to open its doors, no matter what country you’re in).
Rewind 12 hours. The proper start to Xbox 360 launch in Japan is the night before, when more than a hundred Xbox Live gamers and journalists were admitted to a private party at the Xbox 360 Lounge. These gamers were given a demo of the console, and just before the consoles were turned on, Peter Moore welcomed them, thanked them for their support, and invited them to jump in and have fun with the system. The night proceeded from 9pm until 4am the next morning as these gamers were the first to get their hands on Xbox 360, with a wide range of games to play. At midnight, the venue was opened up to the people off the street, and since the Lounge is located in a prominent shopping district close to Harajuku, there was still a lot of foot traffic, resulting in a good flow of people checking out the new system.
A matter of hours later, the Xbox 360 went on sale. Once the lines started moving, Peter Moore and Yoshihiro Maruyama moved behind the checkout counters, handing brand new Xbox 360 consoles to giddy, smiling buyers. The flashbulbs went crazy as the media inhaled the scene for their coverage. Maruyama-san and Peter then returned to the stage to offer one-to-many interviews to key members of the media.
As I type this, Japanese gamers are hooking up their console. They’re signing in to Xbox Live. They’re experiencing the thrill of exploration as they navigate the Dashboard, connect to their Windows XP machine, stream their music in their games, download content from Xbox Live Marketplace, and play the best games available on the market today. They’re entering the world of Xbox Live and finding other gamers from around the world to compete with, interact with, and socialize with. They’re all building up their gamer score, earning achievements, and establishing a reputation. They’re discovering, downloading, and unlocking the full versions of Xbox Live Arcade games. The world of Xbox and Xbox Live just got a whole lot bigger.
The sense of accomplishment here is palpable. While everyone is tense, the overwhelming sense is one of relief, satisfaction, and, of course, watchfulness. It was several years in the making, but Microsoft has firmly planted the first, and most potent, next generation flag in the Japan games market.
Now, we just have to let the rest of the Japanese consumers discover everything Xbox 360 has to offer. And if the rest of the world is any indication, they’ll be nothing but happy with the full Xbox 360 experience.
Many congrats to the Japan team who slaved day and night for weeks to pull this all together, and who have put their personal lives on hold to launch Xbox 360 in a resounding way in Japan.
Wolf
The giant Xbox 360 faceplate on the side of the building that hosted the launch event.
The crowd at the Xbox 350 Lounge the night before launch.
Peter says a few words to the Xbox Live members and console fans at the Xbox 360 Lounge
The line forms in the wee hours of the morning as consumers queue up to purchase Xbox 360.
A barrage of broadcast, enthusiast, print, and online media prepare to capture and distribute the Xbox 360 launch coverage with the rest of Japan, and the world.
Peter on-stage at the launch countdown.
Less than a minute until the console is on-sale! The guy in the hat is the first customer.
The first guy in line gets his Xbox 360.
Peter and Maruyama hand over the Xbox 360 goodness to eager purchasers.