Microsoft give Europe precedence over Japan
Japan a write-off for Xbox?
With the Xbox 360 and Wii now vying for the worldwide sales top-spot (or the Wii leading), depending upon the stats and reports you believe, Microsoft have re-doubled their efforts to strengthen the 360's position in Europe - seemingly conceding defeat in Japan.
Speaking to news agency Bloomberg, Microsoft boss Aaron Greenberg explained: "The number one objective is to win on a global basis and that may mean winning some markets and losing others. Europe is our priority focus right now."
Sales of the Xbox 360 have lagged way behind rival systems in Japan from the get-go, the next-gen system following in the footsteps of the original Xbox which was comfortably out-sold by the PS2 and GameCube in the country.
"After two years on the market, Xbox's position in the country is such that it makes you wonder whether further efforts are even worth it," Hiroshi Kamide of KBC Securities added.
Sales of the 360 in Japan presently reside below the 500,000 mark, while even the expensive and negatively publicised PS3 has now sold comfortably over one million systems.
