Microsoft’s Japanese launch of Kinect has predictably turned into a marketing farce of epic proportions.

One eager gamer, Microsoft would have people believe, queued for hours to be the first in line for the device as “I wanted to be the first in Japan to get one!”

Here he is receiving the first Kinect to be sold in Japan from a Microsoft honcho – what an honour!

Unfortunately, 2ch recognised the man from a previous “this product is so amazing people are queuing all night for it” shill piece – that time the same man was interviewed for the Japanese release of the iPhone, obligingly saying “Well, it’s a worldwide thing isn’t it? You just have to ride the big wave!”

He also helped with manufacturing a sense of popularity on the launch of the iPad:

For this he became known as “Big Wave.” In fact, on his homepage he identifies himself as “Butch,” and helpfully lists his occupation as “sakura” – i.e. rent-a-crowd or shill.

Just how much of the queue outside Yodobashi Camera was hired for the benefit of cameras is not clear, though the PR stunt soon backfired as 2ch and non-corporate gaming sites began to ridicule Microsoft for having to go to such lengths – although TV and gaming rags obediently reported a packed launch event in central Akihabara.

The supposed scene from actual Akiba shops, as photographed by 2ch and not the mass media:

Microsoft’s launch campaign has actually had to try to convince Japanese that a standard “6 tatami mat” sized room (about 10m2) is large enough to play in, with mixed results – some reviewers note that whilst just possible, it is an extreme hassle. The bouncing around is certainly unlikely to endear Kinect playing residents to those in neighbouring apartments.

Given all this, whatever the merits of Kinect itself it can probably be written off as “unsuitable for Japanese homes,” so Microsoft perhaps deserves respect for trying despite the obvious futility of trying to persuade a sceptical public of Xbox non-owning casuals to buy both controller and console and then rearrange their tiny rooms around them – not that this will be much comfort to shareholders left footing the bill for the exercise.