Microsoft Signs on Several Japanese Devs to Make Xbox One Games

[Steven Bogos]

Microsoft Signs on Several Japanese Devs to Make Xbox One Games

Microsoft aims to bolster its historically poor presence in the region.

In an effort to bolster its presence in Japan Microsoft, the company has today announced a that it has signed on some prominent Japanese development teams to make games for the Xbox One. Furthermore, Microsoft Studios Corporate VP Phil Spencer assured Kotaku [http://kotaku.com/whats-next-for-the-xbox-one-1471212785] that these would be "full Japanese games" as opposed to smaller downloadable titles.

If you live in Japan, Microsoft's Xbox is somewhat of a running joke. The original console barely made it over here at all, and the 360's sole audience are basically "Japanese Hipsters" who want to be "more American". You'd be hard pressed to find a diverse Xbox section in a game store outside of Tokyo, and even with big-name exclusives like Blue Dragon (made in collaboration with Dragonball's Akira Toriyama), the console has had a hard time getting momentum in the region.

However, if Microsoft's show-stealing presence at this year's Tokyo Game Show is anything to go by, it is serious about turning its fate around in Japan with the Xbox One. Spencer said that Panzer Dragoon creator Yukio Futatsugi, who recently launched Crimson Dragon on Xbox One, is currently in talks with the company about what he wants to do next.

He also said that we can probably expect some more Japanese indie titles to hit the system, as "We kicked off our independent developer program when were at Tokyo Game Show and saw some top talent walk through the door, so I think you'll see some indies too... I'm committed to the development there."

Spencer says to stay tuned for more information about the Japanese developer partnerships, which should be detailed some time in 2014.

Source: Kotaku [http://kotaku.com/whats-next-for-the-xbox-one-1471212785]

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[luvd1]

*sigh* Here we go again. Bless you MS. You do this every Japanese launch, you plucky thing you.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

If they really wanted to grab the Japanese market then they would have released with the first 13 and had Kinect optional.

 

[schrodinger]

"Japanese Hipsters" who want to be "more American"

Now that's just silly.

Good luck to Microsoft trying to sell their machine in their rivals' backyard, even though most Japanese gamers pretty much demonstrated they don't give a shit about the Xbox since the first one. Honestly, would they even care about the TV functions with NFL attached(not sure if this function is in the xbox for japan), or that the kinect comes with it?
Plus, doesn't the Japanese favor handhelds more? I think that's right...

I am interested to see what games are being developed though~

 

[Steven Bogos]

"Japanese Hipsters" who want to be "more American"

Now that's just silly.

Good luck to Microsoft trying to sell their machine in their rivals' backyard, even though most Japanese gamers pretty much demonstrated they don't give a shit about the Xbox since the first one. Honestly, would they even care about the TV functions with NFL attached(not sure if this function is in the xbox for japan), or that the kinect comes with it?
Plus, doesn't the Japanese favor handhelds more? I think that's right...

I am interested to see what games are being developed though~

You ever heard of "weeaboos" those people who are obsessed with Japanese culture to the point of creepiness? Well, it turns out that they have their own counterparts over here in Japan...

 

[schrodinger]

"Japanese Hipsters" who want to be "more American"

Now that's just silly.

Good luck to Microsoft trying to sell their machine in their rivals' backyard, even though most Japanese gamers pretty much demonstrated they don't give a shit about the Xbox since the first one. Honestly, would they even care about the TV functions with NFL attached(not sure if this function is in the xbox for japan), or that the kinect comes with it?
Plus, doesn't the Japanese favor handhelds more? I think that's right...

I am interested to see what games are being developed though~

You ever heard of "weeaboos" those people who are obsessed with Japanese culture to the point of creepiness? Well, it turns out that they have their own counterparts over here in Japan...

It's weird that someone would want to be more american, considering we're not too popular with the world these days...

Anyways, what is a 'japanese hipster' like? hopefully they're not running around in cowboy outfits while drinking a ton of starbucks.

 

[ZeroAE]

You ever heard of "weeaboos" those people who are obsessed with Japanese culture to the point of creepiness? Well, it turns out that they have their own counterparts over here in Japan...

 

[AldUK]

"I rebel against my elders and seniors and speak English as often as I can, but rarely does anyone manage to respond."

D'aww. Is this really a thing? That's fantastically goofy and weird.

OT; I really don't think Microsoft will ever really make it big in Japan. The Sony and Nintendo brands are like, family friends to Japanese people. Microsoft is the evil foreigner empire. Besides, they are tech-savvy enough to know that the Playstation is just better. (OOOOH, I went there!)

 

[Ichigo]

Ever went to Amerika Mura in Osaka? Where everyone tries to be a black hip hop star?
One of thouse may buy an xbox too, the rest of Japan rather not.
Maybe MS became really desperate.

 

[MrBaskerville]

And yet they managed to lose ArcSystems, which can't be good for business. They aren't getting the next Blazblue, Guilty Gear or Persona 4: Arena, not even on 360 despite that all previous ArcSystems games were available on the system. They probably need to be more aggresive than they were with X360, cause it's not hard to see which platform the japanese developers favored.

 

[Andy Shandy]

Well them previously trying gave us stuff like Lost Odyssey, so I can't argue against them trying.

I don't know how much success it will have in Japan however.

 

[seditary]

So much deja vu right now.

Wonder how long they'll last this time before giving up again.

 

[KarmaTheAlligator]

Wasn't it obvious that they'd be getting some Japanese big names eventually? I mean, they managed to have Sqeenix work on both FF15 and KH3 for the XBone as well as PS4, so I don't see why that's so shocking.

 

[medv4380]

I'll believe it only when I see a good selection of games. XBox they were non-existant. 360 had some triple A developers from Japan like Square, but Sony had everyone else for the last two generations. When a developer like NIS does more than just a token port, like NIS did for the Wii with Phantom Brave, I will believe it. Until then, I'll need a PS4 to play games from Japanese developers.

 

[Someone Depressing]

Then maybe they shouldn't have half-assed every port of every RPG ever that was already released on PS3 and actually encouraged developers to port it well, and perhaps - just perhaps - Japan would give it more attention.

Console gaming is pretty dead in Japan. But, this is, at least, a good thing.

 

[Kasual13]

Console gaming is pretty dead in Japan.

Wait really? first time I've heard of this.

I thought they love their sony & nintendo consoles & handhelds over in Nippon Land.

 

[Roxas1359]

Console gaming is pretty dead in Japan.

Wait really? first time I've heard of this.

I thought they love their sony & nintendo consoles & handhelds over in Nippon Land.

It's pretty much true. Handhelds in Japan sell like hot cakes, with the PSP and Nintendo DS/3DS being kings. If I remember there are more sales of PSPs in Japan than Nintendo Wii's. Mainly it's because Japan gets many more games than the rest of the world ever will, especially with how many VNs there were and the PSP in Japan. That's excluding the fact that the PSP was a pirate machine and could be easily modified, hence why Sony bulked up much more on anti-piracy stuff on the Vita. Vita isn't selling much, but in Japan it's still selling more than the Wii U.