Everyone knows by now that the original Xbox was virtually ignored by the Japanese market, selling well under a million console in that country. Now that Microsoft has learned from their mistakes by securing Xbox 360 exclusive games from popular and well-known Japanese developers, it appears that the Xbox 360 may have a fighting chance this go-around.

After an underwhelming initial launch in Japan, interest in the Xbox 360 seems to be picking up from a faint heartbeat to a marathon runner's pulse all because of Tomonobu Itagaki-san's Dead or Alive 4. Kisoks with DoA4 demos have begun to show up on the streets of Akihabara stores such as Softmap and in Shinjuku at Sakuraya.

According to Akibablog, the Japanese are swarming the once ignored Xbox 360 and the fate of Microsoft's console seems to be looking a bit brighter.

Check out our Dead or Alive 4 Screenshot Gallery from E3 2005.

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