Microsoft Microsoft once again trying to establish the Xbox brand in Japan

At the beginning of the seventh console generation, Microsoft tried to make a strong push in Japan with exclusive games from Japanese developers and first party support to those developers. From this push, the Xbox 360 got exclusive games early on such as Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, Tales of Vesperia, Ninja Gaiden II, Lost Planet, Dead Rising, Ninety Nine Nights, Raiden IV, Akai Katana, Beautiful Katamari, and more as well as lead development on character action titles like Bayonetta.

Unfortunately, that didn't quite work out. The console never really took off in Japan except to the most "hardcore" of Nippon gamers.

Now that the eighth generation of consoles has appeared, Microsoft is trying again to establish the brand by gathering a big list of confirmed developers.

Source and full list.

Speaking from someone who's invested in the Xbox brand, I have to say I'm very excited by this. The titles I listed above are all games I adore and are what made me jump from the PS2 to the Xbox 360 in the first place. While it didn't work out, it was a nice attempt with unintended results like the Xbox 360 being the console that was most often lead developed for. I'm glad to see that they didn't just... give up after that push and are trying once more. It probably won't work, but it'll probably lead to some great games.

 

...

 

...

 

That's terrifying for me because I don't want an Xbone at all and that's pretty much a laundry list of devs I keep an eye on. I hope Libre's right and they're just cross-platform releases.

 

Seeing as its kind of relevant, why was the 360 the first console they pushed, and not the original?

They need exclusives for Japan to care, and I doubt that's what they're claiming here, even if they're insinuating it to make people think about buying One. They can't rely on brand loyalty or anything else, but the games. Japan's average home size wouldn't support the Kinect properly, and I doubt the sequel will be better.

I feel the most for the division of Microsoft/Xbox in Japan. Not jealous of their upcoming battles.

 

Could be. Could not be. In Japan, PS3 is mainly the (far more successful) RPG machine while Xbox is for really (REALLY) niche "gamers" who like more complex games. Guilty Gear got a couple exclusive versions on the original Xbox, didn't it?

I mean, exclusives aren't a bad thing. If you want every game on every console then what's the point of them even competing? If MS is going to throw down the gauntlet by grabbing your favorite devs and having them make exclusives, then maybe you have your eye on the wrong console... Just sayin'. I mean, this is the same console company that once housed Metal Wolf Chaos and published it.

Like I said, this happened before and got a lot of exclusives... Then the PS3 caught up around the rest of the world and it got all the attention from the previously Xbox-favoring Japanese devs, unless you count lead development (which you shouldn't because if the ports are good enough who cares), and got even more exclusives and enhanced versions (some with inferior performance though). Yukio Futatsugi stopped helming Xbox Japan around the time that PS3 started getting ALL THE PORTS so that could be connected too- he made a lot of deals with a lot of developers.[DOUBLEPOST=1398717683][/DOUBLEPOST]

They pushed it on the original- it just isn't noticeable unless you do some digging. Lots of exclusives from smaller developers and huge amounts of exclusive SEGA titles and Dreamcast sequels. Metal Wolf Chaos, Guilty Gear X2 Reload (is that the flippin' title, Nova?), Phantom Dust, Robotech, Ninja Gaiden, Atlus games like Galleon, Coldfear, ports of horror games like Silent Hill as well as Fatal Frame, and more. I mean, who do you think MechAssault and GunValkyrie were for? They aren't for the RPG crowd- Xbox has always been trying to fill a niche in Japan... they kinda are. They're still the highest recommendation for people who want more action focused games in Japan. Popular on 2chan, too.

I think an issue is that Xbox didn't really have that strong of a Japan division. This is possibly why they grabbed up Rareware- an English speaking company near another of their studios who worked with a company with a huge Japanese appeal? Seems to fit...

 

...

 

...

 

...

 

The only Guilty Gear exclusive to an Xbox system is Guilty Gear 2: Overture for 360, and sales on that were abysmal.

No, I don't. I don't want an Xbox One for a lot of reasons, and it's becoming less and less feasible by the year for me to just get every console. I have to choose carefully, and if everything I like is moving to a system I don't then that's gonna cause problems. I can't see them doing that to their many PS fans either; the companies you mentioned have traditionally been avid Playstation supporters, and some of their games are considered classics on those systems.

 

Remember when Metal Gear and FF jumped ship? Star Ocean (for awhile)? It's always possible. They want to expand their audiences. It doesn't mean Atlus is making Persona for X1 only, or Nippon Ichi will develop the Disgaea for the new X1. This could be like what MS is getting from Insomniac- not Ratchet, not Resistance, but a new IP all together. They won't just avoid developing on other consoles to make sure you buy the console you want. And even then, if there are games more exclusives on X1 than PS4 that you're interested in then maaaaybe you should reconsider your buying practice if you can only get one. It's not me telling you PS4 is wrong, it's me saying I went with Xbox because I dug the hell out of their games and that's how I've gotten into every console I've bought. If you're buying a console for a reason that aren't the games on it, then you've got a better mind than I because I Can't think of other reasons to buy a console. However, this is why it's good that MS changed their policies on the X1, eh boyo? If these games are exclusives and they're physical releases... you can wait and collect them later. That's what I'm doing with the PS3 when I can.

It helps that the entirety of the PS3 games I want aren't digital releases, so I don't have to worry about getting a game before an inevitable servers shutdown.

 

...