Post by XBot on Dec 12, 2005 9:00:00 GMT 8
The Shibuya Tsutaya Shopping Center has always been a popular location for game companies to launch a new product. It's where Microsoft unveiled its original Xbox to the Japanese in February 2002, and the company decided to use the same location for today's Japanese Xbox 360 launch ceremony. The center is located at an intersection right outside the Shibuya train station, which is one of the famous landmarks in Tokyo.
Gamers planning to buy an Xbox 360 at Shibuya Tsutaya didn't have to worry about lining up early, as the store gave out numbered tickets to ensure order. Nonetheless, there were already more than 80 people lined up outside in the cold an hour before the console went on sale at 7 a.m.
An additional crowd of curious pedestrians also gathered around the building, wondering what all the fuss was about. Some of the attendees from the previous night's countdown party at the Xbox 360 Lounge were also on hand. The number of customers at the Shibuya Tsutaya event eventually totaled 250, according to Microsoft.
The Shibuya Tsutaya Xbox 360 launch event was hosted by Hisanori Yoshida, a famous DJ from the Nippon Broadcasting radio station. Yoshida, an owner of the original Xbox, expressed his excitement over the launch of the Xbox 360. He also confessed that he couldn't stop playing Halo 2 the previous night, when he should have been resting for his big job this morning.
Fired up by Yoshida, the crowd went wild when Yoshihiro Maruyama, Microsoft Japan's Xbox operations chief, came up on stage. "Thank you all for coming so early to the countdown ceremony today," said Maruyama. "We've finally been able to make our way to the Xbox 360's launch here in Japan. We've all been doing our best to respond to everyone's expectations, and we're finally going to be able to deliver it today. We're anxious to see if everyone will enjoy it."
Gamers planning to buy an Xbox 360 at Shibuya Tsutaya didn't have to worry about lining up early, as the store gave out numbered tickets to ensure order. Nonetheless, there were already more than 80 people lined up outside in the cold an hour before the console went on sale at 7 a.m.
An additional crowd of curious pedestrians also gathered around the building, wondering what all the fuss was about. Some of the attendees from the previous night's countdown party at the Xbox 360 Lounge were also on hand. The number of customers at the Shibuya Tsutaya event eventually totaled 250, according to Microsoft.
The Shibuya Tsutaya Xbox 360 launch event was hosted by Hisanori Yoshida, a famous DJ from the Nippon Broadcasting radio station. Yoshida, an owner of the original Xbox, expressed his excitement over the launch of the Xbox 360. He also confessed that he couldn't stop playing Halo 2 the previous night, when he should have been resting for his big job this morning.
Fired up by Yoshida, the crowd went wild when Yoshihiro Maruyama, Microsoft Japan's Xbox operations chief, came up on stage. "Thank you all for coming so early to the countdown ceremony today," said Maruyama. "We've finally been able to make our way to the Xbox 360's launch here in Japan. We've all been doing our best to respond to everyone's expectations, and we're finally going to be able to deliver it today. We're anxious to see if everyone will enjoy it."
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www.gamespot.com/news/6141063.html