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   The "boost" we're referring to is, of course, relative, because Microsoft's next-gen console is still far from becoming a widespread gaming device in Japan. However, looking at the initial sales figures for the recently launched Blue Dragon role-playing game, one could even say that December 7 was the true Xbox 360 launch day in Japan. In just the first day of its release, Mistwalker's debut RPG sold about 70,000 copies (according to the Japanese website Xbox News), reportedly making it the best selling Xbox 360 game in Japan last week. Out of those 70K games, some 43,000 were individual games, and 27,000 were bundled with a new Xbox 360 console - this being pretty much the "boost" we were talking about.

   Prior to its Japanese launch, Blue Dragon was Famitsu's second most wanted game (after Final Fantasy XIII, naturally), and the famed magazine's review awarded the game an impressive 37/40 score. Also, one of the first English-language reviews of Blue Dragon was published today on CVG, giving it a 9.0 score and concluding that "the game reeks of class" - although admitting this might not be enough to save the Xbox 360 in Japan. Here's a bit more from the article:
"Blue Dragon finds the perfect balance between linearity and excessive freedom - it doesn't embarrass you by holding your hand, and yet it doesn't just leave you alone crying in the supermarket. Hironobu Sakaguchi (the FF creator and Blue Dragon mastermind) is as good a parent as Shigeru Miyamoto.
(...) The great thing is, Blue Dragon has the looks and it has the gameplay. The battle system is a work of twenty years' fine-tuning, assuming that Sakaguchi still remembers what he got up to in the '80s. There are skills to learn, accessories to acquire (and these affect the attacks at your disposal), and levels to be upped."    Microsoft is fully aware of their low profile in Japan, and therefore their goal is to sell just 200,000 copies of Blue Dragon. Giving the 70,000 head start, I'd say they're well on their way to achieve this tangible goal. Now how about bringing it to the West already, eh?