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Japan gets Xbox 360 lounge

It looks well swanky.

Microsoft has opened a swanky new Xbox 360 lounge in Tokyo, complete with demo pods, giant tellies and big posh white sofas like what pop stars have. We imagine.

It's free to visit and try out the games, with demos of titles like Ridge Racer and Ninety-Nine Nights on offer. Along with the regular demo pods there are two 42-inch high definition TVs, plus a whopping 200-inch screen, and there's a vast array of 360 faceplates on display. You can buy snacks and get the beers in, too.

You'll find some pictures over at eToyChest, and there's also an official website with some concept art.

It all looks well good, and is no doubt part of Microsoft's plan to win Japanese gamers over - the vast majority of them reckon the original Xbox is a bit rubbish, according to the sales figures, which show it has been consistently and healthily outsold by both the PS2 and GameCube.

We can only hope that Microsoft is planning to set up some kind of similar thing in the UK - they were unavailable for comment at the time of writing, but we'll keep you posted...