While there are no doubt plenty of Xbox One owners who are still glad they scrambled to preorder a “Day One Edition” of the console at launch last year, there are probably a few who now feel that it perhaps wasn’t worth breaking a sweat for. Shipping in slightly sleeker packaging than usual, Day One versions came bundled with a controller embossed with the words “Day One 2013” and a card to activate an achievement on their owner’s online profile; plenty of bragging rights for the hardest of hardcore Xbox fans, certainly, but that’s about it.
According to the Japanese Xbox One site, though, day-one adopters in the Land of the Rising Sun will be getting a markedly better deal.
Xbox One isn’t expected to be anywhere near as big a smash in Japan as it was in the US, particularly after launching some six months later than Sony’s PlayStation 4, a brand that has long been a Japanese favourite. Nevertheless, there are plenty of Japanese gamers who enjoy Microsoft’s distinctly Western offerings and who will be lining up to pick up an Xbox One when it finally arrives on September 4.
Two SKUs will be available on launch day, one with the powerful Kinect camera bundled in the box and one without. The former is by far the better choice, however, as it comes with a host of goodies.
For 49,980 yen (US$490), Day One Edition purchasers will get:
– the Xbox One console itself
– Kinect camera
– Day One edition wireless controller with two AA batteries
– Voice chat headset
– HDMI cable
– Power cable/AC adaptor
– Day One achievement code
– A two-week trial membership to Xbox Live Gold
What’s so great about that, you ask? Well Japanese day-one adopters will also receive download codes for both Kinect Sports Rivals and Titanfall, the latter arguably the best game available on Xbox One to date. Not too shabby!
Whether the offer will be enough to tempt Japanese gamers remains to be seen, but if you were on the fence about Xbox One, now might be a good time to hop off and find your wallet.
Source/images: Xbox Japan
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