Phil Spencer Touts Xbox’s Japan Growth, Improving Relationships With Japanese Developers
Today’s Xbox Game Showcase was a veritable celebration for fans of several franchises by Japanese studios, featuring multiple Persona games, as well as Metaphor Re Fantazio by former Persona creators, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth and Capcom’s new IP, Path, was also revealed. Of the goddess. This is a notable change from years ago when Xbox seemed desperate to connect with Japanese developers.
Xbox Head Phil Spencer said: Giant Bomb’s Twitch stream, He pointed out that it was his “work” to bring Japanese developers to the U.S.-based platform. Spencer acknowledged that Xbox “is not the strongest brand in Japan,” comparing it not only to the PlayStation and Switch, but also to Japan’s giant mobile market.
“Five years ago, you would ask when we would see Atlus games on Xbox,” said Spencer. “I had Capcom show me the new IP. You see it all, you go to Square Enix and say ‘Come on’ and you have to get on the plane again.
“For me, it’s all about trust and relationships. They have to look to the global market, you have to listen and listen to us and what we stand for. No… but it always works in Japan, especially since we’re the Xbox team. We’re not a platform that originated in Japan, but that’s fine.”
Spencer went on to mention some of the reasons why Japanese developers are skipping the Xbox. Sometimes you have other business deals, sometimes you can only support two or three platforms in one release, sometimes you want to reduce development risk.
“Each additional platform adds more work for the development team,” he continued. “And some teams don’t have much to do with Xbox, and if you go to your local game store, you don’t necessarily see an Xbox. It’s important.”
Spencer concluded by asserting that while Xbox has made great strides in Japan over the past five years, there is still much work to be done.
Xbox made a number of statements following its showcase today, including Matt Booty’s comment that Xbox’s first-party products “have reached a turning point,” and that consoles are the future of Xbox. It also includes what Spencer asserted was “extremely important.” Check out everything announced at today’s Xbox Game Showcase here.
Rebekah Valentine is IGN’s Senior Reporter. you can find her on her twitter @duck valentine.
