Crashes to desktop. When I click New Game > YES!. It goes to the 1st loading screen then shits out.
Ouch.
Are your video card drivers up to date? When I first installed FO3 I ran into that issue and updating my drivers fixed it. If they are at the latest version, try installing the next oldest version. Sometimes new drivers have issues with certain games, necessitating a downgrade.
Perfect Cherry Blossom crawls through the startup screen and then crashes when it gets to the menu on my laptop. :x
Try installing the Asian language pack. I've had a couple of games crash on me without that being installed.
It should be under Control Panel -> Regional and Language Options (might be listed differently on XP, I don't remember). In one of the tabs there should be a checkbox for east Asian language support -- check it, click OK, and reboot. You might need your XP CD handy in order to install the fonts.