Microsoft Looks Like It's Preparing to Try to Make Inroads into Japan again (rumor)

[Andy]

Xbox Apparently Opening New Division To Try And Gain Strategic Partnerships in Japan and Asia – Rumor

Microsoft looks like it is preparing to try and make inroads into Japan again.


Xbox boss Phil Spencer has previously stated multiple times that he views Japan as important, and he will try to address the Xbox’s critical failing in this area. And now, based on a job offer that Generacion Xbox has apparently gained access to, it seems like we may have some understanding of just how Xbox plans to do this.

The job offer is for the Microsoft Global Gaming Partnership & Development Division, or GGPD. The division specifically is trying to recruit people in Shanghai, South Korea, and Tokyo to try and help Microsoft gain some inroads and form strategic partnerships in those regions for the Xbox brand. The candidate here will be the representative of the Xbox brand in these territories, and will have the objective of closing deals with publishing partners.

It seems like, after a generation of mostly ignoring Japan, Microsoft is ready to try and sell Xbox in the region again, and to try and gain some more meaningful Japanese support for Xbox.

https://gamingbolt.com/xbox-apparen...trategic-partnerships-in-japan-and-asia-rumor

 

[Tommygun.]

Oh cool blue dragon 2.0

 

[Mcmasters]

Hmm. I know there's stl acquisitions still being made. How cool would it be if one of them were Japanese?

 

[Andy]

Good luck, Microsoft. You're gonna need it.

But this is a good sign. They're willing to throw money at this problem, too. Good.

 

[Zcythe]

Don't give a damn about where games come from as long as they are good. That said, very little exciting out of Japan these days...

 

[wshowers]

I wish them well. But they've got a long road ahead of them. All the Japanese studio/publishers that I like have pretty much skipped the Xbox platform altogether. If they want to be competitive next gen, they can't have devs/publishers going out of their way to put their games on every other platform but theirs.

 

[Digital Joker]

Yes cause throwing hundreds of millions of dollars at Japan has worked so well in the past.
What AAA titles have come from Japan anyway the last few years? I can think of only one... Persona 4.
All the good stuff has been from US, Canada and Europe.

 

[Nervusbreakdown]

MS need it's own studio instead going after these 3rd parties publishers.

 

[OneBadMutha]

MS need it's own studio instead going after these 3rd parties publishers.

Nah. Not right now. Unlike in the US or UK, they would struggle to fill a studio with top talent in Japan. They don’t have relationships or credibility. This is a good start. Publish a game or two and follow through with it.

 

[Nervusbreakdown]

Nah. Not right now. Unlike in the US or UK, they would struggle to fill a studio with top talent in Japan. They don’t have relationships or credibility. This is a good start. Publish a game or two and follow through with it.

But there others out there that want to make a name for them self. Going with Nintendo or Sony will be much harder to get in because they are top dogs in Japan.

They have to be someone out there.

 

[OneBadMutha]

But there others out there that want to make a name for them self. Going with Nintendo or Sony will be much harder to get in because they are top dogs in Japan.

They have to be someone out there.

Difficulty in Japan is that business is done differently over there. Relationships matter more in Japan than they do in be West. In the West, people will stab their brother in the back for a better business deal. In Japan, not so much. In general Japan won’t jump in bed with you first night just because you give them a good pitch. Microsoft really needs someone over there who understands the market, the people and how they do business. It’ll take time. Nobody at current Xbox gaming has any track record over there including Phil.

Could Microsoft get someone trying to prove themself to make a game? Sure. Doubt they’ll get them locked down and it’s doubtful they would get the top developers for a new studio they way they can for The Initiative.

 

[BUSTERMAN]

Yes cause throwing hundreds of millions of dollars at Japan has worked so well in the past.
What AAA titles have come from Japan anyway the last few years? I can think of only one... Persona 4.
All the good stuff has been from US, Canada and Europe.

You may not have noticed the Japanese offerings because they don’t interest you but there have been quite a few great games to come from the land of the rising sun.

Persona 5 was a huge hit and so was Nier: Automata. Final Fantasy 14 (which I’ve read is a huge money maker) or Final Fantasy 15 which sold millions of copies in spite of its storytelling shortcomings. The Yakuza series does well too and Capcom’s Monster Hunter World sold millions of units. Or how about the Dark Souls series, yup Japanese developer.

Perhaps you’re more familiar with Sony/Nintendo offerings like Nioh, Gravity Rush and/or Super Mario, Zelda Breath of the Wild. Japanese game development is thriving and are doing it their way which is awesome because there are too many “me too” game developers in the West.

MSFT obviously needs talented Japanese developers but with their large checkbook they should have no problem luring in those people. I think the major hurdle for MSFT in Japan is assuring those games that MSFT is in it for the long haul which takes time and investment. They basically picked up and left and that didn’t fill the Japanese gamer with confidence that it should support an Xbox brand. Not with giants like Nintendo and Sony doing their thing. I hope MSFT keeps at it and finds its footing in Japan because their unique perspectives can make for some great games.

 

[The Wolf King]

 

[Digital Joker]

You may not have noticed the Japanese offerings because they don’t interest you but there have been quite a few great games to come from the land of the rising sun.

Persona 5 was a huge hit and so was Nier: Automata. Final Fantasy 14 (which I’ve read is a huge money maker) or Final Fantasy 15 which sold millions of copies in spite of its storytelling shortcomings. The Yakuza series does well too and Capcom’s Monster Hunter World sold millions of units. Or how about the Dark Souls series, yup Japanese developer.

Perhaps you’re more familiar with Sony/Nintendo offerings like Nioh, Gravity Rush and/or Super Mario, Zelda Breath of the Wild. Japanese game development is thriving and are doing it their way which is awesome because there are too many “me too” game developers in the West.

MSFT obviously needs talented Japanese developers but with their large checkbook they should have no problem luring in those people. I think the major hurdle for MSFT in Japan is assuring those games that MSFT is in it for the long haul which takes time and investment. They basically picked up and left and that didn’t fill the Japanese gamer with confidence that it should support an Xbox brand. Not with giants like Nintendo and Sony doing their thing. I hope MSFT keeps at it and finds its footing in Japan because their unique perspectives can make for some great games.

I didn't include Nintendo cause they don't make games for other systems.
Persona I mentioned, and yes Monster Hunter is a popular series also. Dark Souls is hugely popular but again its a long running series.
Neir did well but is somewhat of a niche game.
Final Fantasy has been disappointing for the last several games.

 

[OneBadMutha]

I love Sega. My two favorite consoles of all time are the Sega Genesis and OG Xbox. Sega has everything to do with the former and a lot to do with the later. Selfishly I want some kind of partnership because I think Game Pass would be a great place for a Sega classic arcade and some reboots with updated modern visuals (Battletoads and Mega Man style).

 

[yankeessuck]

Yes cause throwing hundreds of millions of dollars at Japan has worked so well in the past.
What AAA titles have come from Japan anyway the last few years? I can think of only one... Persona 4.
All the good stuff has been from US, Canada and Europe.

Yeah Capcom, Square Enix, Namco, and Nintendo never make anything good. Time to shut them all down.

I get that Xbox is weak with Japanese games so we have to downplay them but lets try harder

MS need it's own studio instead going after these 3rd parties publishers.

Well unless they are going buy everyone its not going to make a difference. Microsoft just needs to make efforts to get more games to go multiplatform.

People keep talking about a Japanese studio as if having one game that came out every 3 years solves the problem

 

[wshowers]

MS need it's own studio instead going after these 3rd parties publishers.

Nah. Not right now. Unlike in the US or UK, they would struggle to fill a studio with top talent in Japan. They don’t have relationships or credibility. This is a good start. Publish a game or two and follow through with it.

I actually agree with both of you. If MS is serious about Japan, it might be time for them to build their own studio over there with young homegrown talent or pull an Initiative and buy some top grade talent. Or if they want buy a mid tier "AA" to "AAA" studio that's already established, there's ALOT to chose from ( Platinum, Mistwalker, Nihon Falcom, Nippon Ichi Software, CyberConnect2 etc.)

But the most important thing IMO is that they have to follow through with those investments. While Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey didn't set the world on fire by becoming genre busting classics, the potential to become stable franchises was there. For whatever reason, MS will not develop the IPs they have unless its the regular staple of Gears, Halo, Forza etc.

 

[Andy]

Japanese game development is thriving and are doing it their way which is awesome because there are too many “me too” game developers in the West.

Good point. That's the main reason I want MS to invest more in Japanese games. It's not because they're Japanese games. It's because they are different sorts of games than the ones made by western developers. I want more variety to choose from, in terms of gameplay experiences.

 

[Zcythe]

You may not have noticed the Japanese offerings because they don’t interest you but there have been quite a few great games to come from the land of the rising sun.

Persona 5 was a huge hit and so was Nier: Automata. Final Fantasy 14 (which I’ve read is a huge money maker) or Final Fantasy 15 which sold millions of copies in spite of its storytelling shortcomings. The Yakuza series does well too and Capcom’s Monster Hunter World sold millions of units. Or how about the Dark Souls series, yup Japanese developer.

Perhaps you’re more familiar with Sony/Nintendo offerings like Nioh, Gravity Rush and/or Super Mario, Zelda Breath of the Wild. Japanese game development is thriving and are doing it their way which is awesome because there are too many “me too” game developers in the West.

That list is not particularly exciting. Ha, Japanese game development is just as “me too” as anywhere else, they’re just “me too” within their culture, just like western developers. There are always exceptions in both arenas, but they’re not immune either. Just make something that is actually interesting, of decent quality, and fun to play.

 

[TeKPhaN]

I actually agree with both of you. If MS is serious about Japan, it might be time for them to build their own studio over there with young homegrown talent or pull an Initiative and buy some top grade talent. Or if they want buy a mid tier "AA" to "AAA" studio that's already established, there's ALOT to chose from ( Platinum, Mistwalker, Nihon Falcom, Nippon Ichi Software, CyberConnect2 etc.)

But the most important thing IMO is that they have to follow through with those investments. While Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey didn't set the world on fire by becoming genre busting classics, the potential to become stable franchises was there. For whatever reason, MS will not develop the IPs they have unless its the regular staple of Gears, Halo, Forza etc.

A studio over there might be what this is all about.
That would be great!

 

[TeKPhaN]

Yes cause throwing hundreds of millions of dollars at Japan has worked so well in the past.
What AAA titles have come from Japan anyway the last few years? I can think of only one... Persona 4.
All the good stuff has been from US, Canada and Europe.

Metal Gear
RE7
Bloodborne
Dark Souls
Street Fighter V
Tekken 7
Soul Calibur
Octopath Traveler
Zelda BOTW
Mario

I know I'm missing some

 

[Mcmasters]

A studio over there might be what this is all about.
That would be great!

I concur. Start with two for Jrpg's and action/adventure narrative driven cinematic pieces. Another L.O. would set the world ablaze.

 

[TDbank24]

I applaud their effort but they'll never be big in Japan and Xbox gamers in NA don't really seem to care about Japanese games so it's a lost cause. I love JRPGs though and i'll take them any way i can get them.

 

[The Wolf King]

 

[karmakid]

You know what, who ever else they take under their wing I hope they get help or given resources like tools/engines from the other devs. Like Turn 10 and Playground, or how Playground had help with water from Rare. Or Rare got help from The Coalition with the Unreal Engine.

Better yet, if they get IO maybe 343 could give them their Infinite Engine, or to other devs like Compulsion.

Gosh I can’t even imagine what a developer picnic would be like if they all met up.

 

[Mcmasters]

You know what, who ever else they take under their wing I hope they get help or given resources like tools/engines from the other devs. Like Turn 10 and Playground, or how Playground had help with water from Rare. Or Rare got help from The Coalition with the Unreal Engine.

Better yet, if they get IO maybe 343 could give them their Infinite Engine, or to other devs like Compulsion.

Gosh I can’t even imagine what a developer picnic would be like if they all met up.

Like a gang in the barrio, essay! Das how holmes...

 

[karmakid]

 

[hrudey]

Why not buy both Nintendo and Sony? MS always thinks so small.

 

[yankeessuck]

Platinum and From will be the ones people will dream about but that would be bad for gaming as a whole. Rebuilding Mistwalker would be the perfect situation to me. Or starting one.

 

[karmakid]

Why not buy both Nintendo and Sony? MS always thinks so small.

After they buy Sony pictures and Tencent /s