Microsoft's Xbox 360 might be hitting a stride in USA and Europe, but it is almost dying in Japan.
In June 2011 Microsoft celebrated reaching the 1.5 million Xbox 360 consoles sold in Japan. This milestone was reached more than five years after the console's launch in 2005. Even more, the console sold less than 73,000 units in 2011 (compared to the PlayStation 3 selling more than 735,000 units in the same period).
Knowing that, and witnessing an increasing decline in demand, a lot of Japanese videogame retailers decided to phase the Xbox 360 out.
Both Geo and Yamada Denki, the nation's largest retailers, confirmed that they have started removing Xbox 360 hardware and software from the majority of their branches and selling any remaining units at a heavy discount.
In the meanwhile, Xbox 360 consoles and games are starting to show up in bargain bins in most stores, with game prices starting from as low as ¥100 ($1.30), with one store selling the Halo: Reach hardware bundle for ¥9,980 ($130).