That's too bad, still . . I would check into the OEM upgrades. Someone in Japan must carry the OEM upgrades and they are much cheaper. You get zero support from MS but . . . out of several upgrades I have done with these . . . I have not had any problems.

The only "cheap*" thing I can find is a DSP version of Windows 7 which comes with some kind of USB interface card. It may be cheaper than other options here, but I don't think that's going to a very good version.
* It's still $240.

Amazon was the only other source I could find . . . =(

"Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S."
Oh, well. Thanks for looking though. It's appreciated. But it seems M$ have their markets locked down nicely =/

i put a the original command and conqure disc in my windows 7 64 bit, and it shut the computer down. I dont know why, so i just play it on my laptop.
in case you ever want to utilize hyper threading you need 64bit, might be some ways to do that on vista, but in no tech guru

I have Windows 7 Pro 64 bit and have xp mode installed but want to clarify about it.
One person mentioned it does not support 3d graphics - that is false. When eclipse ide and opengl wasn't working in Windows 7 for my school opengl programs, I used xp mode to compile and run them. They compile and run fine. DirectX is what cannot be used in xp mode which means most professional games won't run.

OEM versions are useless -- it's forever tied to a single PC and you can't get support through Microsoft. Info here if interested.

The licence is tied to the hardware, the software itself is fine unless its the shitty ghost image things you get with a major manufacturer, those are definitely locked to the hardware. I had xp media centre preinstalled on my lappy and I just downloaded the OEM discs and installed it on my HTPC without an issue.
Someone MIGHT have trouble activating a self-bought OEM version automatically on a different mobo but the phone activation always seems to work even if you have to talk to a real person. Fankly MS don't give a shit about the end user saving some cash by breaking the EULA, they make their money from volume licensing
Now I'm not sure how much this has changed for Win7 but I had no trouble when I did the same thing with Vista

Wow. From the prices I was reading it sounds like it might cost less to just move to a cheaper country. I always though Japan was way ahead of the US in the implementation of technology... but I guess that comes at a cost.

Look here for some info on the OEM disks. Only info on OEM's I could find . . . this is for XP and the info may have changed for Vista / Win 7.
You are right it is tied to a single computer just like any OEM disk. I use them because they are cheap, work well and they are basically a full, clean install of the OS (no garbage like the OEM disk that comes with HP, Gateway, Dell etc.). I usually have to activate via phone but have never failed to get an activation. They are not for everyone but . . . if you are building your own system or want to upgrade your existing system with a fresh install with no crapware for a decent price . . . . then it can be the way to go . . . =)
Edit: Example of when I use an OEM, I have a Vista system which dual boots to XP. I will wipe the HD, install an OEM of Win 7 and reinstall my OEM XP on a separate partition. I prefer to use the Pro versions but the lesser versions are even cheaper if that's all you need . . . =) The OEM disk also work well for creating slipstream disks which I had to do for my XP install . . . XP didn't have MB drivers for my system (too new) so slipstreaming was the only way to get XP installed on the new (at the time) system.

I don't mind it being tied to the one PC if it means I don't have to shell out the full price. Windows certainly isn't cheap.

Upgrade (which is full) version for me was about $140 w/tax. More than worth it.

In terms of computing, there's no way Japan is ahead of any other first world country. And I expect there are many second/third world countries which could Japan a run for its money in that respect too.
Still, I was able to find the money and now have Ultimate sitting on my desk. Comes with two DVDs, one each of the 32 bit and 64 bit versions. I'll be giving the 64 bit one a try I think. About time I was able to actually use all the memory in this PC.