Death Smiles(cave) coming to J-360!

[mrtie]

http://kotaku.com/5042341/gothic-lolita-shooter-death-smiles-getting-xbox-360-version

Yep it seems Cave/Atlus is going 360 crazy with a raft of releases. First Ketsui and DOJ, now Death Smiles, I'm going to have to mod my damn 360 or save up and buy a NTSC-J model now, because the chances of this being region free are like 0.

[HeavyMetalMe]

Time to get 360.

[Doctor Fugue]

Indeed. Let's buy JP 360s in bulk.

http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopi ... 9&start=10

[RackGaki]

I would actually consider importing a 360 myself, now that failure rates have plummeted. A Japanese 360 was going to be my first choice, but I decided against it as the red ring of death gained notoriety. Now that I know Microsoft will fix a Japanese 360 in America, the only thing holding me back is the price... of both the games and the console.

[Doctor Fugue]

Now that I know Microsoft will fix a Japanese 360 in America

I'm not calling you a liar, but could you provide proof of this? I have only heard the opposite from people in forums...obviously you can't believe everything in forums, but still. They said when they called Microsoft about fixing a JP console, MS essentially said that a JP 360 is not for sale in America and so there is no reason for them to fix it or honor the warranty (as it only applies in Japan).

However, if they ARE willing to fix them, I am one step closer to buying one!

[Flak Beard]

Now that I know Microsoft will fix a Japanese 360 in America

I'm not calling you a liar, but could you provide proof of this? I have only heard the opposite from people in forums...obviously you can't believe everything in forums, but still. They said when they called Microsoft about fixing a JP console, MS essentially said that a JP 360 is not for sale in America and so there is no reason for them to fix it or honor the warranty (as it only applies in Japan).

However, if they ARE willing to fix them, I am one step closer to buying one!

For what it's worth, my friend who lives in Japan was able to get his US 360 repaired there. Someone even came and picked it up in person from his apartment.

I would like to think that MS would fix a JP console in the US considering this. On the other hand, customer service in general is lights years better in Japan than it is here.

[RackGaki]

Now that I know Microsoft will fix a Japanese 360 in America

I'm not calling you a liar, but could you provide proof of this? I have only heard the opposite from people in forums...obviously you can't believe everything in forums, but still. They said when they called Microsoft about fixing a JP console, MS essentially said that a JP 360 is not for sale in America and so there is no reason for them to fix it or honor the warranty (as it only applies in Japan).

However, if they ARE willing to fix them, I am one step closer to buying one!

Stuntman & Strider77 on the SHMUP forums vouches for it (look up "Japanese 360 repair" in posts - I knew I read it, just took a while to find it). Others have asked if their RROD Xbox 360 would be fixed if it was a different region, and they fixed it... by replacing it with an NTSC/U version (Takuhi@Neo-gaf). On that same thread in Neo-gaf, someone else had their NTSC/J console repaired and returned, but they were in Europe, not America.

I would just ask Microsoft to return my RROD console, neglect to mention it's origin, and hope for the best.

Since we are dealing with information on internet forums, I will retract my use of the word "know" with "highly suspect." Not having experienced this first-hand, that's the best I can do.

Buying a Japanese 360 for Death Smiles is certainly a lot cheaper than the PCB, and it might be the cheapest way to play since Cave shooters don't seem like they will be region-free. And I highly suspect that Microsoft would repair my console, should I use it too much and experience the dreaded RROD.

[gradualmeltdown]

we have Death Smiles at an arcade in town. Awesome beyond belief but not worth $400-$500 to play. Region coding is stupid.

[Doctor Fugue]

...

Thanks for the details!

I always assumed Microsoft in the States only has refurbished NTSC/U consoles to give out. If they only repair (and not replace) your JP console, that would be fine I guess.

I imagine if my JP 360 got replaced by a US 360, I would ummm...[EDITED OUT]...yeah, that would suck. The frustrating thing is that every person I talk to on the phone there seems to have different answers (even though they are reading from a script), so calling them and asking wouldn't solve anything.

Anyway, the failure rate has gone way down, so I suppose making sure you get new stock instead of old stock would be good.