Tech Shout!

Microsoft delivered some exciting news on Wednesday morning from their press conference at the Tokyo Game Show in Tokyo Japan. As per the announcement, Microsoft will show 110 different titles for the Xbox 360 in Japan as well as pricing and availability details for its HD-DVD drive accessory in that region.

The titles include Hironobu Sakaguchi’s “Blue Dragon” title from Microsoft Game Studios, a new version of “Pac-Man” from Namco, Capcom’s “Lost Planet: Extreme Competition,” Namco’s “Trust Bell: Chopin’s Dream,” and an epic role-playing game dubbed “Infinite Undiscovery.” With the Pac-Man game, Microsoft will hold a worldwide tournament on the Xbox Live online gaming service. New Xbox Live Arcade games include “Contra,” “Dig Dug,” and “Gyruss.”

“The key to winning the hearts and minds of the Japanese market is great games, and this great lineup demonstrates that Xbox 360 has those games in spades,” said Peter Moore, corporate vice president of the Interactive Entertainment Business in the Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft. “Our lineup of role-playing games from the acknowledged masters of the genre is proof positive that there has never been a better time for Japanese gamers to jump in and pick up an Xbox 360 system.”

“It’s been a real challenge in Japan to date,” said Shane Kim, corporate vice president of Microsoft Game Studios. “We feel good going into this holiday with guns-a-blazing. I think we have a significant value-add with the Xbox 360 and the HD-DVD player. Plus we have a software update.”

The forthcoming dashboard update will enable support for 1080p (1920×1080) resolution; however, the existing lack of an HDMI cable for the XBOX 360 implies that this resolution will only be supported over component and VGA. Existing games and DVDs will be able to take advantage of this resolution through the upscaling feature of the XBOX 360, but no “native 1080p content” has been prepared for release as of yet.

“The 1080p resolution is for those who want the gold standard,” Kim said.

Microsoft will also release its XNA Game Studio EXpress software development kit for hobbyists and game students in Japan. Several Japanese universities said they would make the kits available for their students. Kim said that the strategy in Japan hasn’t changed.

“It hasn’t changed at all,” Kim said. “Our strategy has been consistent from the get go. It’s games like Viva Pinata, Gears of War, from Microsoft Game Studios. We have defacto next-gen exclusives like Madden NFL for HD. We have exclusives for Fifa and Winning 11 in Europe. We have a significant lead in online with Xbox Live. I saw today that Tony Hawk is dropping online support for PS 3 version because they don’t know what the network libraries will look like. It’s harder for those to catch up. We have a four year head start. We offer the most choice and capability. I do think the story we have with HD-DVD is the right one for customer too. For those who want HD movie playback, we have that. We are not forcing customers to pay for it.”

With the arrival of the HD DVD add-on drive and the rumors of a new XBOX 360 with an internal HD DVD drive, the update to include 1080p support may be part of the “surprise” Microsoft claimed was in store to counter Sony’s PlayStation 3, slated to launch in Japan on November 11 (November 17 for North America).

This places the Xbox 360 a little closer in its capabilities to the Sony Playstation 3 which is also said to be able to support high-definition in 1080p. “Xbox 360 and the HD DVD Player together deliver the most powerful and affordable games and movie system for Japanese consumers,” Moore said. “The freedom to choose their entertainment experiences is extremely important for consumers as they enter the next generation.”

In addition, Microsoft announced that its fall software update, scheduled for release later this year, will allow all Xbox 360 consoles around the world to output game and movie content in 1080p resolution.