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Xbox suggests more original Japanese games are coming
“So much has come, but there’s even more that’s going to come in the future”
A senior Microsoft gaming exec has suggested that original Japanese titles are in the works for Xbox.
Sarah Bond, who is Microsoft’s corporate VP of gaming ecosystem at Xbox, was asked during an IGN Japan live stream on Saturday if Xbox owners should expect original Japanese Xbox-published titles in the future, similar to Xbox 360’s Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey.
“Completely,” Bond replied. “One of the things that I’m super excited about is that we have over 250 developers in Japan developing games for Xbox right now. 150 have already shipped, 100 of them are in Game Pass and we [recently] got to announce 15 titles made in Asia and 13 in Japan.
“So much has come, but there’s even more that’s going to come in the future and I can’t wait to reveal it to you all as it starts coming out.”
Update
In a further interview published by Game Watch, head of gaming Phil Spencer acknowledged demand for original Japanese games on Xbox and said “we are working on creating such titles”.
“It’s not too much to hope for. We’ve just met with Kojima-san from Kojima Productions and many other game creators to talk about bringing unique titles to the Xbox.
“We understand that many game fans want that. We are also aware of the common desire for games from Japan. We are working on creating such titles, so please look forward to it.”
Blue Dragon (2006) and Lost Odyssey (2007) were two-Xbox exclusive RPGs created by Mistwalker and Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi.
Microsoft has made renewed efforts in Japan with Series X|S. The consoles launched day-and-date with other territories and Phil Spencer committed early on to better cater to Japanese players this console generation.
While still performing behind PlayStation 5, Xbox consoles have enjoyed better than expected sales in Japan in recent months, with Xbox Series X/S having outsold Sony’s console twice on a weekly basis, in mid-May and again in June.
Microsoft’s head of gaming was asked about Xbox’s relationship with Japanese gamers in a separate interview with Famitsu on Saturday.
“I have a lot of acquaintances and friends who make games in Japan,” he said. “Many of them we’ve known for a long time, and we’ve been asking, ‘What do you need for our platform?’
“We have listened to Japanese game creators and received feedback. I think the fact that we have been able to improve has led to trust, which in turn has led to games being released on Xbox. I think that feedback loop will lead to many more Japanese games in the future, and I am happy about this trend.”
Further reading
Sakaguchi says he’s not interested in remasters of The Last Story or Blue Dragon
Mistwalker boss would rather be “building something new”
One developer the Xbox team visited this week was Kojima Productions, who announced earlier this year that it’s working on an Xbox-exclusive cloud title.
“Kojima-san and I have known each other for many years,” Spencer told Famitsu. “He has some novel ideas about gaming experiences, and we decided to partner with him because we want to bring them to life on our platform.
“I visited Kojima Productions today and had the opportunity to see the early stages of the project, which was very exciting.”
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