Xbox 360 at Tokyo Game Show 06 @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on September 20, 2006

News: Microsoft is bringing out the big guns.

Game journalists have run out of adjectives to describe the utter failure the Xbox was in Japan. And our friends across the Pacific aren't being any kinder to those thesauruses this time around. But this is Microsoft we're talking about and they're more determined than ever to make a good showing in Japan. So to that end they've announced that a slew of highly anticipated games will be on hand at this year's Tokyo Game Show and over 110 titles will be available in Japan by year's end.

2006 releases Lost Planet, Lost Odyssey, Viva Piёata, Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 and Trusty Bell (from Namco) will be on the showfloor along with Live Arcade titles Contra, Gyruss, Dig Dug, Rush'n Attack, New Rally-X and Ms. Pac-Man.

Several games that are scheduled for release in 2007 will also be displayed including Blue Dragon, Infinite Undiscovery (from Tri-Ace) and the Live Arcade title Yie Ar Kung Fu (which will exclusive to Japan [for now]).

Speaking of Live Arcade, Microsoft also announced they would be hosting the Pac-Man World Championships in New York City in early 2007 and that the tournament would use the XBLA version of Pac-Man. They've promised us more details will be forthcoming soon.

But while the XBLA makes something big out of something small, MS plans to use TGS 06 to make something big out of something that's already big. They've announced the HD-DVD add-on will ship November 17 in Japan for 19,800 yen (about $177). This release will be followed by the next major software update, which will enable the 360 to output game and movie content in 1080p resolution.

To keep track of all of Microsoft's TGS moves, be sure to check out the "Bringing It Home" coverage on Xbox Live.