Microsoft To Open Xbox 360 Lounge

TOKYO -- Microsoft will open a purpose-built demonstration center for its soon-to-be-launched Xbox 360 games console here in early November, the company says.

The Xbox 360 Lounge will be located in Tokyo's up-market Aoyama district. It is scheduled to open its doors to guests on November 1 and for general visitors the following day. In addition to Xbox 360 consoles, the center will also have a 70-seat cafe, according to Microsoft.

The center is intended to give Japanese consumers a chance to try out the new games console and some of the games ahead of its launch.

Xbox Ships in November

Microsoft plans to put the Xbox 360 on sale in Japan on December 10, a week after the European launch and two weeks after the U.S. launch. Its current-generation console has fared badly in Japan against strong competition from Sony Computer Entertainment's PlayStation 2 console and registers only a handful of sales per week against the PlayStation's thousands.

Indeed, Microsoft has its work cut out in convincing Japanese gamers that the Xbox 360 is a viable competitor to the PlayStation 3. The company has time on its side as the PlayStation 3 isn't expected to be available until about four to six months after the Xbox 360 launch. However, whether gamers will rush to buy the Xbox 360 or wait to better compare the two consoles remains to be seen.

Microsoft has already held several events for the Japanese media and retailers. While the rest of the world learned about the Xbox 360 through a telecast on the MTV cable network, the company held events in Tokyo to introduce the console and software developers working on games. Visitors to September's Tokyo Game Show were also able to play a selection of Xbox 360 games on several dozen prototype systems.