NTSC-J Xbox 360 owner's manual

[Bootaaay]

I think that the Arcade models are being phased out in Japan.

Are PA.com not still offering them?

Yeah, they're still in stock at Playasia - thats where I got mine last month.

[bcass]

Just had a look on the jap xbla, and yes, it troubles me that I have no idea what anything on the screen means! Potential problem for me! (I wonder why MS haven't considered english speakers may be living in Japan but unable to speak the lingo!)

To get to the shooting games section on the JPN Marketplace, follow these instructions when you are first signed-in to your JPN Gamertag:

Up, Up, A, A, Right, Down x 4, A

If you only want to see a list of downloads for a specific game (and still assuming you are logged-in to your JPN Gamertag) put the game disc in the drive and press Up to goto My Xbox, press Y then select the Downloads option. For downloaded games (XBLA and Games on Demand) and retail games installed onto the HDD, press Up to goto My Xbox, press Right x 2 to goto Game Library, select the relevant game from the list then select the Downloads option.

If you're based in the UK then the best place to get a JPN 360 (Jasper unit) is videogameimports.com to avoid likely heafty import taxes. You can pick up a UK PSU off amazon.co.uk or ebay.co.uk for around £15.

[Ichabod]

Cheers Bootaay - how much did you pay on import tax if you don't mind me asking

bcass- Cheers for that. I had seen those already at GVI.com, but was put off by only a months warranty.

[Elixir]

PS. Ellxir - I couldn't see which list update you just added?

I had to arrange some things such as dates of released games and upcoming games, since Futari is actually no longer 2010 but Ketsui is probably no longer 2009.

• Released:
  
  Shikigami no Shiro III - Dec 12, 2007
  Raiden Fighters Aces - Mar 25, 2008
  Raiden IV - Sep 30, 2008
  Otomedius Gorgeous - Nov 19, 2008
  Dodonpachi Daioujou Black Label Extra - Feb 19, 2009
  Shooting Love 200X - Feb 19, 2009
  Death Smiles - Apr 24, 2009
  Mamoru-kun wa Norowarete Shimatta - Jun 25, 2009
  
  Aegis Wing - 2007 (US Marketplace only) (Xbox Live Arcade)
  Ikaruga - 2008 (Xbox Live Arcade)
  Triggerheart Excelica - 2008 (Xbox Live Arcade)
  Omega Five - 2008 (Xbox Live Arcade)
  R-Type Dimensions - 2009 (Xbox Live Arcade)
  
  Upcoming:
  
  Mushihimesama Futari - Nov 26, 2009
  ESP Galuda II - 2010
  Ketsui - TBA
  Death Smiles II - TBA

[Bootaaay]

Cheers Bootaay - how much did you pay on import tax if you don't mind me asking

I had to pay just under £50 unfourtunatly.

[Ichabod]

Cheers Elixir.

Bootaay - Hmm, it's a bit of a hit, but not as bad as I thought it could be.

Another important question I'm concerned about, is warranty issues of a Jap box in UK.
Will MS honour it, as sending it back & forth to Jap at £55 per time is a bit much!



Ps - thanks to everyone for their answers, it helps make a more informed decision.

[bcass]

Different people have had different experiences when it comes to having 360s fixed. Some people have had the correct region console returned, while others have had a console returned with the region they sent it. My guess is that this is down to whether the 360 is repaired, or replaced. Your best bet, should you ever have to return it for repair, would be to include a note stating that it is a Japanese console, and it should be returned (either repaired or replaced) as a Japanese console. Maybe add some small details that all your games are Japanese and if they don't return a Japanese console, you won't be able to play all your games. That's what I'll be doing if mine ever needs fixing.

[bcass]

There's nothing wrong with owning a Jasper unit over a Falcon, nor is there anything wrong with owning a Falcon over a Jasper. The only real advantage which the Jasper has is the on-board 256MB RAM to cover the NXE update which requires a memory card or HDD in Falcon or previous models.

Given that the Jasper has only been around for 13 months or so, it's still too early to make this assumption. From my personal experience (I replaced a Falcon unit with a Jasper unit) the Jasper unit runs significantly quieter than all the other 360 hardware iterations (I've used all of them). It also runs cooler - I've noticed it doesn't get as hot at the back where the fans are pumping out the heat. Initial signs are that the Jasper units are more reliable:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/09/03 ... t_sept_09/

SquareTrade also found that while Xbox RROD failures were extremely prominent in 2008, they appear to have dropped significantly following Microsoft's introduction of the Jasper chipset late last year.

"It is still too early to definitively assert that Jasper has given RROD a knockout punch, but such an argument may be pronounceable in the coming months," it said.

Obviously we'll know for sure in the coming year or so if this remains true, but the fact is that the Jasper chipset runs cooler than in any of the prior models (using 65nm chips for both CPU and GPU), and with heat being the primary cause of the RROD, it wouldn't be unreasonable to assume that these models will be more reliable than the other models.

[Ichabod]

Incidentally, does the Japanese account have to be created on the console, or can it be done on a pc?

[Elixir]

There's nothing wrong with owning a Jasper unit over a Falcon, nor is there anything wrong with owning a Falcon over a Jasper. The only real advantage which the Jasper has is the on-board 256MB RAM to cover the NXE update which requires a memory card or HDD in Falcon or previous models.

Given that the Jasper has only been around for 13 months or so, it's still too early to make this assumption. From my personal experience (I replaced a Falcon unit with a Jasper unit) the Jasper unit runs significantly quieter than all the other 360 hardware iterations (I've used all of them). It also runs cooler - I've noticed it doesn't get as hot at the back where the fans are pumping out the heat. Initial signs are that the Jasper units are more reliable:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/09/03 ... t_sept_09/

Thanks, I'll add this to the original post. Not sure if I'll bother scouting out Falcon information since everyone will just buy the latest models anyway, I guess.

[Ichabod]

Incidentally, does the Japanese account have to be created on the console, or can it be done on a pc?

Anyone?

And another thing. Retail disc v XBLA pricing - is this really a no brainer? For instance, DeathSmiles disc=approx £45 delivered; XBLA=approx £12. Is it really that simple, or is there a hidden catch

[bcass]

Incidentally, does the Japanese account have to be created on the console, or can it be done on a pc?

Anyone?

And another thing. Retail disc v XBLA pricing - is this really a no brainer? For instance, DeathSmiles disc=approx £45 delivered; XBLA=approx £12. Is it really that simple, or is there a hidden catch

The way I registered my JPN account, I registered a free hotmail account first online (selecting Japan as my region). When you enter that email address on the 360 when setting-up your JPN gamertag, it will automatically set your gamertag region to Japan.

Also, you can't buy Deathsmiles on XBLA, and it isn't in the Games On Demand section yet either, although it will be more like £20 when it appears in the GoD section (as per all the other GoD titles).

[Ichabod]

Also, you can't buy Deathsmiles on XBLA, and it isn't in the Games On Demand section yet either,.

You can't? Confused now[more]! What am I seeing on the jap XBL market for 1200 points and is 524mb? is that GOD?

[bcass]

What you're seeing on the Marketplace is the Mega Black Label DLC for DeathSmiles. It's an add-on for the retail game, not the full game.

[Ichabod]

What you're seeing on the Marketplace is the Mega Black Label DLC for DeathSmiles. It's an add-on for the retail game, not the full game.

Ahh right, I see. That's one hell of a lot of add-on isn't it!?
Definitely still confused by the site - I thought that was the game itself.

[kog3100_edw]

Okay, I've got a question I don't think has been answered amongst the reams of JP Xbox 360 info. If it has I apologise.

I have a JP machine and I want to run Panzer Dragoon Oorta.

a) what region lock issues are there for non-360 Xbox games? That is, what version of PD Oorta should I buy for my console?

b) will the Xbox emulation routine for that game download to my console?

It isn't like there's A LOT of old Xbox games I plan on downloading but I'd really like to get that one.

Anyone know? Anyone tried something similar?

[E. Randy Dupre]

You need the NTSC-J version. You also need the disc every time you play it - the download is just an update to the existing emulation stuff on the console.

You probably shouldn't bother, though, as the emulation for PDZ is broken and, afaik, you can't actually finish the game - last I heard, only some of the game's levels worked. And that's presuming that the Japanese version is actually supported, as different regions support different games via emulation, and I've only tried the PAL one.

Better to pick up a second-hand original Xbox and play it that way - you can get them for about £25 nowadays.

[bcass]

Better to pick up a second-hand original Xbox and play it that way - you can get them for about £25 nowadays.

Definitely. The backwards compatibility on the 360 is a joke. Even the games that are supported have numerous problems.

[Elixir]

Unfortunately bcass is right. Games like Otogi and Metal Wolf Chaos don't work on Japanese 360 consoles, but at least Grabbed by the Ghoulies does.

[Cuilan]

Here's a list of all the original JP Xbox games that are backwards compatible with a JP 360. PDO is there.

http://www.xbox.com/ja-JP/games/backwar ... eslist.htm

[Ichabod]

Found out some information regarding deciding if to buy jap360:

Warranty: MS will not honour a Jap warranty in the UK & for this reason PA offer their own 6m warranty. Furthermore, MS say the jap warranty length depends on exactly what the fault is!

Motherboard ID : PA seem to want to have nothing to do with customers requesting Jasper units - They don't acknowledge that the console power details can be seen from the window (see below), or indeed that it even exists in jap. Possible?

According to PA, this box window doesn't exist!

[bcass]

Found out some information regarding deciding if to buy jap360:

Warranty: MS will not honour a Jap warranty in the UK & for this reason PA offer their own 6m warranty. Furthermore, MS say the jap warranty length depends on exactly what the fault is!

Some people on NTSC-UK have had faulty JPN units repaired by Microsoft Europe in warranty.

Motherboard ID : PA seem to want to have nothing to do with customers requesting Jasper units - They don't acknowledge that the console power details can be seen from the window (see below), or indeed that it even exists in jap. Possible?

According to PA, this box window doesn't exist!

Yep, they're talking crap, most likely because they have stock of non-Jasper units that need shifting.

[Elixir]

Thanks Cuilan, I'll add it to the original post now.

Ichabod: That box obviously exists. Ceph said earlier in this thread that UK repairing is different, but I have yet to see any proof.

[Ichabod]

Yep, I've no problem with accepting that is the normal 360 box. But like bcass says, PA are playing silly beggers.

I just wish this whole warranty business was printed clearly somewhere in b&w. Phoning the 360 customer support is a complete waste of time imo.

[Cuilan]

I just wish this whole warranty business was printed clearly somewhere in b&w. Phoning the 360 customer support is a complete waste of time imo.

Phoning is indeed a waste of time, regardless of which country you live in. The best way to know for sure if your imported 360 is covered by any official warranty is by logging on to xbox.com and registering your console's serial number on the support site. Once you do that, it will tell you if your 360 is covered and to what extent.

[Ichabod]

Fair point Cullan. But I'd have commit to buying the console first in order to find out if it has a usable warranty!

[Cuilan]

Fair point Cullan. But I'd have commit to buying the console first in order to find out if it has a usable warranty!

Yeah, a straight answer would be nice before committing. But if what bcass said is true, then the odds are in your favor. And if you get a Jasper, then it's statistically less likely that you'll need to make use of the warranty, at least not for quite a while.

[bcass]

The worst that will happen (and there have been reports of this too on NTSC-UK) if your 360 can't be fixed and needs replacing, is that they will send you a PAL machine back. Not ideal, but you can just sell it on to fund another JPN model. All signs so far indicate that the introduction of the Jasper models has had a big impact on reducing the number of faulty units so I think this is going to be much less of an issue from here onwards.

[Ichabod]

they will send you a PAL machine back. Not ideal, but you can just sell it on to fund another JPN model.

Fair point except:
Cheapest UK Arcade in uk=£99
Cheapest JAP Arcade in uk=£300 !

[Egg]

great thread, this has been very helpful...but i do have a couple of additional questions.

I don't know much about xbox live....i actually havent created and a live account yet. I have jpn console and am planning on creating a jpn account, but I wanted to know...for any games/upgrades I buy off of live....do I always need to be connected online whenever I want to play them....even after I have purchased/downloaded them?

the reason I ask is because I dont have wireless internet and my internet connection is on the opposite side wall from where my tv + xbox are. So I plan on connecting on my console to the internet and moving my tv temporarily to connect to live and buy Deathsmiles MBL and maybe Omega Five or some other games....but I want to know that once I move my xbox back to its original location and take it offline, will I still be able to access that content/games?

Sorry for all the questions. I tried checking the thread to see if it has been brought up already, but after awhile my eyes started glossing over and I couldnt make it through the whole thread

thanks in advance!