Microsoft Sells 39% of Xbox 360s in 1st Two Days of Japan Debut

Microsoft Corp. sold 39 percent of its new Xbox 360 game console in the first two days it was available in Japan, the world's second-biggest market for video games, according to market researcher Enterbrain Inc.

Microsoft, which started selling the Xbox 360 on Dec. 10, sold 62,135 of the 159,000 consoles it shipped, according to Tokyo-based Enterbrain. That compares with about 123,000 units sold in the first three days for the first Xbox, which debuted on Feb. 22, 2002, the report said.

The Redmond, Washington-based software maker's first Xbox was outsold by Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 2 about 36-to-one in Japan, and seven-to-one by Nintendo Co.'s GameCube. Yoshihiro Maruyama, the head of Japan's Xbox operations, in September said Microsoft ``can't call it a victory'' unless it wins on Sony and Nintendo's home turf.