New game blamed for Xbox 360 shortage in Japan

The release of a new action role-playing game is responsible for the shortage of Microsoft's Xbox 360 gaming console in Japan, a Wednesday report finds. The console has not traditionally sold in high numbers in Japan, but the platform-exclusive Tales of Vesperia title saw a sudden spike in sales Microsoft did not foresee.

The company admitted its oversight, apologizing to its customers on Japan's website, and adding a fresh shipment will arrive in September. Namco Bandai's Tales of Vesperia is due to come to North America next week. In Japan, the game launched on August 7.

Compared to Sony's PlayStation3, the Xbox 360 has few Japan-style role-playing games on its platform, which in part accounts for its poor sales relative to Sony's console.