Yes, you've read it right. In the top 10 poll of the most popular magazine in Japan, Famitsu, Xbox 360's RPG Blue Dragon has just managed its way up to the 3rd most anticipated game in this country, surprisingly leaving behind titanic titles in the region like Metal Gear Solid 4 and The Legend Of Zelda.

This is the first time ever that an Xbox or Xbox 360 game reaches such high levels of anticipation in the land of the rising sun. Big names like Sakaguchi, Toriyama and Uematsu and the massive advertising in Japan are undoubtedly the causes behind this achievement some would call a miracle.
1. Final Fantasy XIII (PS3, Square Enix)
2. Resident Evil 5 (PS3, Capcom)
3. Blue Dragon (Xbox 360, Microsoft)
4. Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3, Konami)
5. Summon Night 4 (PS2, Banpresto)
6. The Legend of Zelda : Twilight Princess (Wii, Nintendo)
7. Yakuza 2 (PS2, Sega)
8. Dawn of Mana (PS2, Square Enix)
9. Super Robot Taisen : Original Generations (PS2, Banpresto)
10. Tales of Destiny (PS2, Bandai Namco)
11. Final Fantasy VI Advance (GBA, Square Enix)
12. Higurashi no Naku Kei ni Matsuri (Alchemist, NDS)
13. Gyakutensaiban 4 (NDS, Capcom)
14. Furai no Syren (NDS, Sega)
15. Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 (Xbox 360, Tecmo)
16. Monster Hunter Portable 2 (PSP, Capcom)
17. Dragon Quest Monsters J (NDS, Square Enix)
18. Monster Hunter 3 (PS3, Capcom)
19. The Legend of Zelda : Phantom Hourglass (NDS, Nintendo)
20. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii, Nintendo)
» Read More 

Microsoft has a nice surprise for Japanese gamers that pre-order the Xbox 360 game Blue Dragon (release december 7th in Japan - USA/EU unknown) - they will get a free Blue Dragon mousepad and some Blue Dragon stickers to pimp their Xbox 360 console.
» Read More 

Achieve360Points.com finally discovers the achievements for the highly anticipated JRPG Blue Dragon - but they're all in Japanese! RPGSite translates.
» Read More 

Japan got a sneak peek at the future of Xbox 360 RPG gaming this past week with the home release of the Tokyo Game Show Lost Odyssey demo. Bundled with the latest issue of Famitsu (something that had to cost Microsoft a ton of cash considering the magazine sells over 700,000 copies each week), the demo lets players experience the first half hour or so of Mistwalker's next title after Blue Dragon.
» Read More 

The latest issue of legendary gaming magazine Famitsu offers a look at the Xbox 360 and some choice games that are set to come out in the near future. Among those were Blue Dragon and the latest in the SRW franchise, Super Robot Wars XO (or as it's known in Japan, Super Robot Taisen XO).

Six pages of scans inside.
» Read More 

The famous magazine Shonen Jump had the privilege of doing a big unveiling on Blue Dragon this week. Considering who the character designer is, it makes sense.
» Read More 

Let no one doubt the power a popular anime artist and a popular RPG developer can have on a system's success in Japan. 1up is reporting that pre-orders for the 10,000 limited edition Blue Dragon Xbox 360 bundles are selling briskly, with some retailers running out of stock within minutes. This is the same console that barely sold 2,000 units in the country last week, making the healthy interest all the more surprising.

Is this sales surge a temporary blip due to a collectible bundle, or will Microsoft be able to parlay the interest into a sustainable market share in the country? Either way, we'd advise Microsoft that a boob-filled bundle for Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 couldn't hurt in the land of the giant huggable Kasumi pillow.
» Read More 

Xbox 360 is suddenly lighting up retail tills in Japan. Pre-orders began for the company's Blue Dragon bundle yesterday with many retailers reporting a sell-out
» Read More 

The famous magazine Shonen Jump had the privilege of doing a big unveiling on Blue Dragon this week. Considering who the character designer is, it makes sense. A japanese friend sent me these two low quality cell phone photos showing a bit of the game. It will have to do until we get some true scans.
» Read More 

Microsoft has put together this sweet, Japan-only Blue Dragon bundle that probably ain't gonna do much to enhance the company's bottom line (read: it's likely subsidized), but will (they hope) juice the 360's pitiable sales in that country.
» Read More 

The official Blue Dragon page has been put online a few hours ago, with nothing really new to see unfortunately. But since a 720p version of the TGS trailer was available there, I've decided to put it here as the one I captured from the Marketplace wasn't perfect.
» Read More 

Mistwalkers first game for the XBOX 360 got it's own website. Blue Dragon will become one ot the most anticipated Japanese RPG's.

The game will be released this year, just in time for Christmas and sales in Japan.
» Read More 

What do Japanese game developers think about the next-gen consoles? Famitsu Mag took it upon themselves to ask 58 game developers (directors, programmers and designers) from 19 game companies about next-gen consoles and here are the results...

Which next-gen console will send cash registers ringing:
* Wii (60%)
* PS3 (37%)
* Xbox 360's (3%)

Which system they prefer for game development:
* Wii (63%)
* PS3 (32%)
* Xbox 360s (5%)

Which next-gen console they want for Christmas:
* Wii (49%)
* PS3 (42%)
* Xbox 360 (9%)

Most anticipated PS3's games:
* Metal Gear Solid 4 (12 votes)
* Final Fantasy XIII (10 votes)
* The Eye of Judgment (7 votes)
* Afrika (6 votes)
* Heavenly Sword (4 votes).
* Runners up: Bladestorm, Gran Turismo HD, Lair and Resistance: Fall of Man

Most anticipated Xbox360 games:
* Blue Dragon (18 votes)
* Lost Odyssey (14 votes)
* Culdecept Saga (8 votes)
* Dead Rising (4 votes)
* Gundam Operation Troy (4 votes).
* Runners up: Lost Planet, Gears of War, Riot Act and Idol Master
Most anticipated Wii games:
* The Legend of Zelda (26 votes)
* Super Mario Galaxy (8 votes)
* Wii Sports (5 votes)
* Animal Crossing (3 votes)
* Smash Brothers X (3 votes)
* Runners up: WarioWare, Fire Emblem, Sonic and the Secret Rings and Elebits

What they expect from PS3:
* Extremely high expectations (48%)
* High expectations (32%)
* Don't expect much (18%)

What they expect from Xbox 360:
* Not expecting much (45%)
* High expectations (40%)
* Extremely high expectations (13%)

What they expect from Wii:
* Extremely high...
» Read More 

Japanese Gaming Mag Famitsu interviews Hironobu Sakaguchi, who reveals some interesting bits of information about Blue Dragon gameplay...
» Read More 

With PlayStation 3 looming, its performance so far has hardly been auspicious - but Xbox Japan boss Takashi Sensui believes that Microsoft's efforts with 360 in the Far East will finally come to fruition this holiday.

While the bulk of media and consumer attention at last week's Tokyo Game Show was focused on an overwhelmed Sony stand, Sensui insisted that his struggling platform was finally receiving the content to match the value proposition to turn around Microsoft's fortunes in a territory which has thus far largely shrugged at a console the West has embraced.

"Japanese consumers are somewhat reluctant to take in new brands, particularly if the brand has come from outside Japan," Sensui told GamesIndustry.biz in an exclusive interview during last week's event.

"We've been here for several years now and we've launched a new campaign this summer for 360. The response has been very positive - people now feel they're very close to 360, that it's more relevant to their lives and particularly for gamers that Xbox 360 is the best platform there is."

Key to Microsoft's optimism this holiday is a triumvirate of 360-exclusive titles, spearheaded by Mistwalker's hotly-tipped RPG Blue Dragon and including Capcom's Lost Planet and Tecmo's Dead Or Alive Xtreme 2.
» Read More 

Famed game producer Hironobu Sakaguchi of Mistwalker game studio and developer Artoon present the highly anticipated Xbox 360-exclusive "Blue Dragon." Featuring the character design of Akira Toriyama, who designed "Dragon Ball Z," and music by Nobuo Uematsu, the composer for "Final Fantasy," "Blue Dragon" is an epic role-playing game (RPG) centered on a young boy named Shu and several of his friends. These unlikely heroes possess miraculous strength and magical power to control phantom shadows that mirror the actions of their masters.
» Read More 

Whether or not these games actually make a difference for Microsoft remains to be seen, but if the huge interest in Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon by TGS show goers is any indication, 360 may just have a chance in Japan
» Read More 

Touching down on Japanese shores on December 7th - just in time for Christmas.
» Read More 

Microsoft's Japanese Blue Dragon pack-in has received little press attention. Yet it's a smart and bold hardware move, right up there with the U.S. Wii bundle. Next-Gen applauds Microsoft's strategy in targeting a particularly valuable audience¿
» Read More 

In anticipation of the nearing Tokyo Game Show, Microsoft held a press conference today to discuss their new marketing strategy in Japan, announce new games and hardware packages, and finally give everyone a glimpse at gameplay from Mistwalker's Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey. Read on for a breakdown of the event and plenty of photos and video.
» Read More