Xbox 360 beats PlayStation 3 in Japan: Microsoft thanks its flying pig division

The latest figures show that the Xbox 360 outsold the PS3 by more than two to one in Japan last week. The AMW figures show that 28,116 Xbox 360s were sold compared to 10,705 PlayStation 3s, while Media Create has the numbers at 24,962 to 9,673.

Of course, the Wii outsold them both, but at this point that's like saying the iPod outsold all other MP3 players. They're both probably selling to the same types of people, too. 

This small victory can of course be attributed to Tales of Vesperia, which Japanese gamers like because it's Japanese. That makes it okay for them to buy a 360 without enduring scorn from the menfolk. The latest in the Tales series rests proudly at number four in the Japanese sales chart with over 100,000 copies shifted.

It's not a victory that will last, but it must be good for Microsoft to know that, provided it can get an exclusive Japanese sequel in a Japanese franchise from a Japanese company, it can actually have some small measure of success in Japan. Easily done, right?