Microsoft: Japanese Sell Out Is "Totally Legit"

Kotaku reports: "In mid-August, a seemingly unbelievable thing happened: The Xbox 360 sold out in Japan. Unbelievable because for years Japan ignored the Microsoft game console. But there we were, mid-August and an Xbox 360 sell out. This came just as Namco Bandai RPG Tales of Vesperia hit the Xbox 360. It got so bad that Microsoft actually had to issue an apology for the sell out. September saw a Microsoft Tokyo press conference that announced a console price cut that would hit when stores were restocked with consoles.

The timing for all this is just too damn good. When asked if this was a moved engineered by Microsoft, company exec Aaron Greenberg said, "Oh, it was totally legit. The demand for the console shot up suddenly. How can you plan for that?" Even now, the situation is so bad that apparently there are only roughly 18 or so consoles in the Japanese warehouse. "Everything we're making, we're selling straight through," Greenberg said. "That's why we're selling out. The only machines we're not selling have dents in them or have been accidentally damaged.""