Dead or Alive 4 to miss Japanese 360 launch

The American launch of the Xbox 360 has come and gone, with reports of the console selling out nationwide. Even the delay of the system's only planned launch role-playing and fighting games couldn't slow the sales. Microsoft can only hope for that scenario to repeat itself when the company releases the 360 in Japan December 10.

Earlier this month, From Software announced that its maiden Xbox 360 RPG Enchant Arm would be missing the launch, pushed back until January. Today, Tecmo announced that its fighting game Dead or Alive 4, already delayed from the launch lineup in America, would similarly slip a week in Japan, to December 17. The company cited unexpected last-minute adjustments as the reason for the delay.

But where the American launch was supported by 18 games even after the delays of 2K Games' RPG Oblivion and Dead or Alive 4, the 360 is now going to hit Japanese shelves with just six titles in tow, listed below. In addition to having fewer 360 games to play on their new consoles, Japanese customers will also have fewer original Xbox titles to choose from, thanks to the system's limited backward compatibility in that country. Japanese gamers will only be able to play a dozen Xbox games on their 360s, compared to more than 200 for American 360 owners.

Microsoft has said it is determined to crack the Japanese market this time out, and has enlisted the aid of some highly respected Japanese developers to create games for the system. With none of those projects having reached fruition yet, it will be interesting to see how the 360 fares with its scaled-back launch lineup.

Japan's Xbox 360 Launch Titles:

Every Party
FIFA 06: Road to FIFA World Cup
Ridge Racer 6
Need for Speed Most Wanted
Perfect Dark Zero
Tetris: The Grandmaster Ace