Xbox 360 To Get First On Demand Japanese Import

Cave-published "bullet hell" shooter Deathsmiles IIX will be available on the Xbox 360 Games On Demand service in the U.S. next week, marking the first time the service has offered a foreign title. The news comes by way of the company's Facebook fan page, where a representative says that the game "will be in the original Japanese, and will only be available in North America for now." According to Cave, the company was approached by Microsoft directly for this unique opportunity, adding that it "will be giving this format a try for getting some of our other Japan-only shooters released overseas." The occasion will mark not only the first time the Games On Demand service has featured a foreign game, it will also be the first time a title on the service does not have a retail equivalent, as Cave will not be releasing a disc version in the U.S. Despite being the region's lowest-selling home console by a significant margin, the Xbox 360 has a surprising number of titles available only in Japan; a cursory glance at the Wikipedia list puts the count at just over fifty, including an additional five from Cave.