Xboxist

Is it Time to Crown Xbox 360 The Champ?

Will Xbox 360 be able to make a comeback in Japan? Ask us a year or two ago and it would have been a resounding "No!". But like Mickey Rourke's miraculous resurrection in The Wrestler, Microsoft has fought tooth and nail to not only keep from K.O.'ing in the Japanese market, but with keen strategy and a bucketful of money they reinvigorated the Xbox brand. And their fancy footwork has left Sony dizzying to keep up.

Out of nowhere, Microsoft landed a huge right hook to Sony at last year's E3 when they successfully stalled the release of Final Fantasy XIII on the PS3 in order for the dev. team to catch up with a surprise 360 port. So not only did they swipe the triple A juggernaut from Sony's dwindling corner of exclusive games, they effectively kept it from being a timed exclusive for Sony, by having Square Enix agree to releasing the two versions simultaneously here in the US. Ouch! Just when you think they're down in Japan. That's what you call a rope-a-dope!

Microsoft hasn't let up on the pummeling. These past years, they've been pumping out Japanese RPGs left and right, seducing even the most devout PlayStation fanboys away from their PS3 lovefest. While Sony sulks at home wondering why its phone calls go unanswered, Sony fanboys were creeping around and engaging in shameful trysts with 360 exclusives like Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, Tales of Vesperia, and Infinite Undiscovery. Now the quality of these titles may vary wildly, some bordering on awful; one thing is for sure: the forbidden fruit tastes some good when it's hanging so low and juicy. Where are your J-RPG's, Sony? You were so hot back in your PS2 years.

Now Microsoft has landed yet another cool exclusive in the form of the extremely popular Star Ocean series. Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope for the Xbox 360 rocketed their sales past the PS3 and Wii. For the week of its release, there were 25,334 Xbox 360s sold, which handed a brutal beating to Nintendo's 16,973 Wii and Sony's 16,149 PS3 numbers. This is the fourth week that Microsoft has managed to outsell its competition in Japan.

Could the final bell be ringing for PlayStation? With lackluster performance the third year into its launch, has the grizzled veteran become too slow and battered to keep up the fight? We all agree God of War 3 will pack a nasty punch, but unless Sony can muster up a hidden well of strength in the form of very well-kept secret exclusives, it may be time to crown a new champion in the heavy weight division.

Wow, Microsoft just unlocked the "Win Sony's Trophy" achievement! Good job, guys!

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