Things have suddenly taken off for the 360 over in the Land of the Rising Sun, because Xbox 360 units have been selling out, again. But this time, the numbers have been released and it’s pretty good. Of course, it’s all thanks to Blue Dragon’s imminent release on the 7th of December, but what are bundles for?

For those that don’t know, Blue Dragon is hotly anticipated because it’s an RPG with cute graphics, and we all know how much the Japanese love that kind of thing (in the same way that “anything with guns” type games are so well received everywhere else). It is also being bundled with the newly released Core version that the Japanese didn’t originally have. And on top of that, there are some extra goodies included in the bundle, for a limited time only:

A hardware bundle will be available, including the Xbox 360 core system and the Blue Dragon software for a very reasonable price of 29,800 yen (around $250). As well as this, there will be a limited bundle, featuring all of that, plus an original table calendar, a special Blue Dragon faceplate, illustrated by Akira Toriyama, and a set of five miniature figures of characters from the game, all at the same price. Incredible value, really.

One for the hardcore fans then. Microsoft, to their credit, at least haven’t given up on the Japanese marketplace just yet, as they still think the marketplace is there to be won. It also comes at a strange time for the increases to occur, what with the now very near launch of both the PS3 and the Wii. Either everyone is rich and have money to burn, or everyone wants all three! And the figures speak for themselves:

Microsoft is planning to produce 100,000 of the Blue Dragon hardware bundles, and 10% of these will be the limited set with all the cool Blue Dragon merchandise we mentioned. […] At the end of the first day of pre-orders, most retailers are now sold out of the limited set. One major online retailer sold out of their allotment within five minutes, others managed to last most of the day…

Yes, it’s only Japan, and yes, these numbers would be far greater in the US and Europe were the game to be GoW (and that no-one had the console), but it is still good figures. If I were Microsoft, I would be pleased with the way it has turned out so far. If they produce more of the special edition bundle, rather than the 10%, I bet they would rake in even more. Though if they were to offer all that on a wider basis, it wouldn’t be a limited edition and it would mean MS lose more money per sale of 360, so it is understandable.

Blue Dragon seems to be the game that kick-starts the 360 in Japan then. Expect to hear more Japanese gamers over Xbox Live in the coming months!

Thanks to AN ALIEN, kobejonez and amjad abbas for the submit.