Xbox 360 Hitting Japanese Colleges

"Another attempt to open Japan up to Microsoft's machine.

Okay, the original Xbox didn't fair so well in Japan, but Microsoft appears to be doing their best to make sure that history doesn't repeat itself.

Hoping to inform college students and the public about Xbox 360 next-generation gaming, executive officer of Microsoft Japan Yoshihiro Maruyama will be giving a free lecture on October 7th at the Tama Campus of Chu-ou College in Tokyo.

The theme of Maruyama's lecture is "Xbox 360 and HD Entertainment." In the lecture, Maruyama will discuss Microsoft's vision of the three pillars of HD Entertainment: Hi-Def, Online, and Customization. In addition, Maruyama will also be speaking about Xbox 360 and Microsoft's future post-launch vision.

This lecture will be open to the general public, not just university students. Besides MMOs, online games haven't really taken off in the country; it'd be interesting if this and Microsoft's 360 vision helped get the Japanese gaming public excited.

In the end, the December launch will tell us once and for all whether MS's new marketing approach in Japan has been a success."