Xbox Live Arcade gets makeover in Japan

TOKYO--Taking a new approach to marketing in Japan, a market where the Xbox has long struggled to gain a foothold, Microsoft is using a homegrown manga character to promote its the console.

The company announced today that it will use the manga character Game Center Arashi as its marketing mascot for Xbox Live Arcade, the site dedicated to arcade titles available on the Xbox. The site will undergo some changes next month, after which Game Center Arashi will appear on the site. Arashi will also be appearing in magazine ads and in-store advertisements for Xbox Live Arcade games.

Game Center Arashi was a manga comic that ran in the Corocoro Comic in Japan from 1978 to 1983. The title character is a bucktoothed boy who beats various arcade games using special moves that caused bugs and performed miracles.