New Xbox Japan Ads Are Reminiscent of Old Dreamcast Ads

For those living outside Japan, the country’s Xbox 360 commercials have been interesting. There have been a boy band and a song about kicking the shit out of the recession.

http://lastchance.cc/187653/xbox-360-do-do-do-no-no-no%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E

The latest series of ads features a trio of salarymen from the “Xbox Mission Department”. The guy with the Xbox 360 logo for a noggin is named Sanrokumaru, or literally three-six-o.

Click to view This ad features features the Xbox Mission Department getting a new department. The bandaged department chief and injured Sanrokumaru are willing to risk limbs to get big name game titles. The department chief asks if the new department member has any questions, and he asks who Sanrokumaru is. Sanrokumaru, that’s who!

Sanrokumaru speaks only through the Xbox 360’s “X” noise.

Click to view In the second ad, the three salarymen go to get Monster Hunter for the Xbox 360. Monster Hunter Frontier has recently been announced for the Xbox 360.

https://lastchance.cc/monster-hunter-frontiers-debut-360-trailer-5457015%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E

In each of the subsequent ads, it seems as though the businessmen will be going out and wrangling big name titles for the Xbox 360. There is a teaser for the next Xbox 360 title, which is has been censored as “XXXX”. What could it be?

The ads, with their dry portrayal of Japanese business culture, do seem reminiscent of SEGA’s Hidekazu Yukawa Dreamcast ads. Hopefully, Microsoft’s fate with the Xbox 360 will be better than how the Dreamcast turned out.

The console was defeated by Sony’s PlayStation 2, and SEGA left the hardware business. There does not seem to be a chance of Microsoft meeting the same fate as the company already boasts a high Xbox 360 instal rate for North America and Europe.

Xbox特命課 [Xbox via はちま起稿]