Xbox 360 Lounge Opens In Japan w/ Huge Success

[mckmas8808]

Still, it seems if something can go wrong it does go wrong for MS at the moment. I'm not going to get an XB360 as I don't want to invite the curse on my household!

Damn I can't stop . OMG that's so funny.

 

[Deepak]

I'm not going to get an XB360 as I don't want to invite the curse on my household!

"Ring-o". After you buy 360, you'll receive a phone call.

 

[eDoshin]

Perhaps the point here is Sony store has been around awhile, but they've started remodelling based on Apple's lead? jvd said the one near him looked like an Apple store.

Have they? .. I find all 3 styles distinctly unique. Maybe they've done so where JVD is, but I have been to the Sony Style store in the SF Sony Metreon and the Stanford Shopping Centre and the mall in San Jose. I would think these are leading edge stores since they are in the heart of the silicon valley and SF. Apple goes for the mimimalistic approach .. very stark and white like their macs and iPods. Their stores are very bright and white. Sony Style stores are more busy with full showroom setups isolated from the rest of the store with couches and giant screens running movies with the full audio setup .. more like a hi-tech home. The playstation store is just games games games. A very loud busy place like a club. The 360 store seems to emphasis more the sitdown cafe (ie Starbucks meets Apple) approach. There doesn't seem to be that much emphasis on product.

 

[Hardknock]

1up gives impressions of the Xbox 360 lounge and consumer interest which appears to be a success. From the pictures and by their account the lounge appears to get quite a bit of traffic.

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3145455

Décor aside, the main function of this room is definitely to highlight the Sanrokumaru, with two giant Pioneer displays set up in front, with playable versions of Ridge Racer 6 and Ninety Nine Nights, and a whole row of playable kiosks in the back, starring Dynasty Warriors 5 XL, Kameo, N3, RR6, Wrestle King Damu, and Every Party. We were disappointed to learn that the triple-a most anticipated launch title for Japan, Tetris, was nowhere on the premises. The demos themselves are from TGS, and as such, suffer the same lack of polish. That hasn't stopped the masses from coming and experiencing the console for themselves, however. Over the course of the hours we relaxed here, many people came in and out, trying out the console and having a few drinks on the side. Oh, yes. The full function bar features a number of 360-inspired beverages, such as the kiwi yogurt drink, which turns white streaked with green when you stir it, or the Hypnotiq-Midori blend which does the same, though we would never indulge in alcohol while on the job.

When the sun set, the lights went down and the giant screens on the wall started showing trailers and promotional videos for the 360, and the clientele started reflecting less urban twentysomethings and more salarymen off from work for the day. The building is so well designed acoustically that even the noise of all the kiosks and tvs coupled with the bustle of the crowd, a relatively even mix of locals and foreigners, could not disturb the ambiance of the place.

I can't believe they're only showing TGS builds though...

 

[Shogmaster]

2 Weeks in Japan, with 1 week in Tokyo, took the Shinkansen (Bullet Train) to Kyoto, then Hiroshima, then took the train to Niigata, and then Shinkansen back to Tokyo. Had a wonderful time, seeing a beautiful country. Of course, I make these things up, just to entertain you guys.

Hey Gordon, your web design business with your brother must be going really well these days, huh? TGS trip to Japan! I'm so jealous! And I couldn't even beg you to take the trip down to LA for E3 years back....

Too bad you've now gone totally bonkers for Sony, otherwise I'd invite you down next year for E3 again. If someone told me back in 2000 that you'd be the biggest Sony Playstation fan in 5 years, I would have told them that they are completely nuts.

 

[expletive]

MS are cursed. Everything XB360 just sounds really strained at the moment. We keep hearing fo things going wrong. Maybe this much happens anyway but with modern communications we just hear more about it? I mean it's that way with natural disasters adn the like - there's no more thse days than there were, just that we get to hear about them all whereas a hundred years ago we wouldn't.

Still, it seems if something can go wrong it does go wrong for MS at the moment. I'm not going to get an XB360 as I don't want to invite the curse on my household!

I think it is strained becuase they are shooting for a very aggressive launch date and scope. Theres maybe only a couple of titles that wouldnt benefit from an extra few months of development time, theyre up against a huge production and distribution challenge, not to mention marketing globally in a 2 week span and in a territory where you were a non-factor last gen. This is like trying to drive the Titanic through a slalom course.

I do agree with your sentiment though, i'm sure there were lots of similar problems in almost EVERY launch that were swept under the rug simply because the 'information age' hadnt yet arrived. I also dont think that any of this "strained-ness" has a long term impact though, its just a product of, as J. Allard so aptly put it, "having to cut corners".