Microsoft has never said that the Xbox 360’s performance in Japan would win it the current generation console war. While Asia as a whole is “important”, according to Xbox 360 group product manager Aaron Greenberg, “you can win on a global basis by leading specifically in North America and Europe”.

But while Japan - where the 360’s installed base lags far behind that of Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Nintendo’s market-leading Wii - may not be as important to the Xbox business as other regions, that’s not to say Microsoft hasn’t been making a concerted effort to woo Japanese gamers.

Almost exactly two years ago at a pre-Tokyo Game Show conference, Xbox Japan boss Takashi Sensui unveiled an Xbox 360 bundle featuring Mistwalker-developed Blue Dragon (pictured, below), a Japanese RPG that led to a significant short-term jump in 360 sales when it released that December. A year later Mistwalker’s follow-up, Lost Odyssey, helped boost 360 adoption once more in the run-up to Christmas, but while the sales bumps were welcome news to Microsoft, the PS3 and Wii were still comfortably outselling the 360.

Ultimately, these titles alone wouldn’t be enough to spearhead Microsoft’s assault on Japan, but securing 360-exclsuive JRPGs is still very much a central part of the platform holder’s long-term attempts to penetrate the market, according to Tokyo-based Sensui, who has headed Microsoft’s Xbox biz in Japan since being appointed general manager of the Home and Entertainment Division at Microsoft Co. Ltd in February 2006.