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 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
