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DAILY REPORTS
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Mar 9
In Japan, getting a tattoo means you can never go home
At last night's launch event for Final Fantasy XIII, Square Enix boss Yoichi Wada showed up with a Fal'cie symbol from the game tattooed on his hand. He tweeted that he "probably" would not be able to return to Japan.
Wada, of course, was being lighthearted. The tattoo, of course, is fake. It appears in the game, and this is a publicity stunt. It is worth noting that there has been a bizarre thread of sorts in which game execs have gotten game titles tattooed on their bodies. Actually, it's not really that big of a trend. As far as Kotaku can tell, Wada is the second to do this. The first is former Microsoft exec Peter Moore who apparently got Halo 2 and its release date tattooed on his arm. (Kotaku)
Nov 29
Windows 7 sales boom in Japan after Microsoft learns lesson from Vista
Sales of Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system have boomed in Japan since its Oct. 22 launch, greatly exceeding sales of the system's unpopular predecessor Vista.
Microsoft Japan said the company made Windows 7 lighter on system resources after learning a lesson from Vista's bad reputation. (Mainichi)
Nov 6
Microsoft Doubles Down on Links With Japanese Academia
Microsoft is looking to expand ties with Japanese universities and has unveiled a multi-million dollar long-term plan to deepen its research roots in the country.
The "Mount Fuji Plan" got its start this week and builds on the software maker's Institute for Japanese Academic Research and Collaboration (IJARC) that was formed in 2005 by Bill Gates. It focuses on fundamental-level research projects. (PC World)
Nov 5
Windows 7 Seeing 'fantastic' Sales in Japan, Says Ballmer
Initial sales of Windows 7, Microsoft's newest operating system, were "fantastic" in Japan and helped spur PC sales in the country, CEO Steve Ballmer said Thursday.
"We've had a great response here in Japan," he said at a Tokyo news conference. "Certainly we've seen initial sales be fantastic. The first ten days were bigger than the first ten days of XP or Vista or any other Windows launch that we have done."
(PC World)
Oct 25
Japanese earnings on course for recovery
Japan's short but intense first-half results season will this week confirm that a broad recovery in corporate profits remains intact.
But analysts are anxious for guidance on whether the strong yen will hurt exporters in the run-up to Christmas. The earnings season, with more than 400 companies reporting on Friday alone, is expected to show the breadth of the recovery in the technology sector after strong results from US technology blue chips such as Apple and Microsoft. (FT.com)
Oct 22
Microsoft's Windows 7 hits stores
Microsoft Corp.'s Windows 7 hit store shelves Thursday in Japan as part of a global launch for the wider public, promising to deliver a faster and lighter operating system that may help boost sales of personal computers ahead of the yearend shopping season. (Japan Times)
Oct 22
Burger King Japan selling Windows 7 burgers
Microsoft has taken the unusual step of promoting Windows 7 in Japan with Burger King's launch of a Windows 7 Whopper. Fitting in with the software theme, the burger stacks seven patties in an otherwise normal Whopper and measures 5.1 inches tall. It also has an appropriate 777 yen ($8.53) price. (electronista.com)
Oct 20
Sony, Fujitsu computer models embrace Windows touch
The digital touch: Windows 7 is entrusted with delivering the Microsoft vision that Vista spectacularly failed to conjure. One promise of the new operating system is to help take the touch interface of Apple's iPhone and iPod products to a bigger stage. Sony has joined the ranks of computer-makers offering touch-screen computers with its new Vaio L Series lineup of 24-inch, all-in-one PCs. (Japan Times)
Sep 23
How Xbox 360 Can Conquer Japan - TGS 2009
Taking a quick look at Microsoft's short history at TGS since 2005, it's evident they have been up and down the past few years with their conferences. In 2005, Microsoft used the Tokyo Game Show as a platform to showcase their launch titles for the Xbox 360 and announce Ninety-Nine Nights (N3). But the biggest question mark of the event was Microsoft's time spent on showcasing Halo Wars and Halo 3: ODST; two titles that don't exactly receive a lot of fanfare in Japan. Still, even with a few shortcomings in years past, Microsoft has done an overall good job at raising the stakes in the "console war." (planetxbox360.com)
Sep 23
Yahoo's agreement with Microsoft covers China, Japan
Yahoo! Inc. said the proposed Internet-search partnership with Microsoft Corp. will cover both Japan and China, where its operations are run by local partners.
Yahoo is discussing requirements for the adoption of Microsoft's Bing search engine with its local partners. In July, Yahoo agreed to use the software on its Web sites and sell ads that appear next to search results, with the two companies splitting the revenue. (Bloomberg)
Sep 19
Toyota 8th, Honda 18th in ranking of 100 best global brands
Toyota moved down by two notches to eighth place and Honda advanced to 18th from 20th in BusinessWeek's annual ranking of the Best Global Brands for 2009, according to the latest edition of the business magazine.
Coca-Cola retained its top slot for the ninth consecutive year, followed by IBM in second and Microsoft in third, both unchanged. (AP)
Sep 16
Sony introduces its thinnest Walkman
The spotlight may be on Microsoft's newly released Zune media player but that didn't deter Sony launching its thinnest Walkman players.
Sony introduced the NW-A840, a extremely thin device that has a 2.8-inch OLED screen, FM radio, noise canceling and TV-out features. The Walkmans will be released in Japan at the end of next month and are expected to be available in the U.S. later. (wired.com)
Sep 2
Microsoft cuts Japan price for Xbox
Microsoft Corp. said Wednesday it is cutting the price in Japan for its high-end Xbox 360 game console by 25 percent in a bid to lift demand ahead of the critical year-end shopping season. The Xbox 360 Elite will now cost 29,800 yen ($320), down from 39,800 yen. The move was in line with Microsoft's announcement last week that it was slashing the U.S. price for the Xbox 360 Elite by $100 to $299. (AP)
Aug 11
Toshiba prepares to ship Blu-ray players
Toshiba, which lost the high-definition format war with the death of HD DVD, said Monday it plans to launch Blu-ray disc players this year, and has joined the industry group in charge of the Sony-backed format.
The consumer electronics maker conceded defeat in the format battle in February 2008 after Hollywood studios and Wal-Mart lined up in support of Blu-ray over HD DVD, which had also been backed by Microsoft. Sony-led Blu-ray supporters included Panasonic. (informationweek.com)
Jul 31
Yahoo Japan role in Microsoft search deal 'still unclear'
Following the announced search deal between Microsoft and Yahoo, the future of Yahoo Japan, for which Yahoo is a minority stakeholder, is up in the air as executives have not revealed whether its search will also be run by Microsoft.
Microsoft and Yahoo yesterday announced a 10-year revenue-share search pact that will create what they hope will be a more credible search competitor to Google. (brandrepublic.asia)
Jun 27
Windows 7 prices announced; pre-order, upgrades start Friday
Microsoft Corp. announced pricing for its upcoming Windows 7 operating system, and the best deal you can get is $49.99.
That's if you pre-order Windows 7 from Microsoft. The Redmond-based company announced today that pre-ordering will start Friday and run through July 11. (seattlepi.com)
Oct 12
Sony, Microsoft virtual communities to start
(fosters.com)
Oct 9
Microsoft takes battle to Tokyo Game Show
(hollywoodreporter.com)
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