Microsoft pitches 360 to Japanese baseball fans

When the original Xbox went on sale, promotions featuring demo kiosks at pro baseball games were one of the main tools in Microsoft's marketing arsenal. That tradition continues with the Xbox 360: Today's game at the Tokyo Dome between the Nippon Ham Fighters (their real name) and the Daiei Hawks featured a number of Xbox 360 promotions.

New Xbox Japan head Takashi Sensui threw out the game's opening pitch to kick things off. The evening also featured Xbox 360 demo kiosks sporting such titles as Pro Yakyuu Spirits 3 and Ninety-Nine Nights, the hotly anticipated title from Meteos creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi.

One of the gamers at the demo kiosks was none other than the Ham Fighters' veteran pitcher Satoru Kanemura, who took a keen interest in Pro Yakyuu Spirits 3. Kanemura is an avid gamer who reportedly took an Xbox 360 on his latest camping trip so he could play Need For Speed: Most Wanted, and he was favorably impressed with Konami's baseball game. "I'm really surprised at the level of realism. The athletes' form is perfectly accurate--as a pro myself, it's amazing."