Phil Spencer explains why Japanese games skip Xbox

Xbox gaming CEO Phil Spencer weighs in on why Japanese game developers typically skip the Xbox platform: 'Sometimes teams don't have a connection to Xbox'

[Magog]

Because it's by far the third least popular console worldwide and isn't even a blip on the radar in Japan.

[darthv72]

"He's right, you know" - Morgan Freeman

[notachance]

is there even an XB fanboy in this site that isn't from NA/UK?

hell, there probably are no new fans since XB1 era, only a bunch of old timers from OG Xbox or X360 gens.
I sure hope that changes though because Sony's showcase was mediocre, they looked like they're in serious need of competitors. The recent Xbox showcase was better although most of it were 2024 or later titles..

[InUrFoxHole]

Plenty of people like xbox but if you've been on this site for any significant amount of time you know N4G is a safe haven for sony fans. You get xbox fans here too but it's primarily sony fans and even less pc only fans lol

[notachance]

yeah maybe not so much because of the site but purely because PS has way more fans worldwide...

like I said, people in the US or UK might be oblivious since XB and PS are neck-to-neck over there but for the rest of the world XBL is a barren wasteland it's pretty much a common sense to just buy PS/Nintendo instead.
For example here in my country unless someone frequent game news like me, almost no mainstream gamers know who master chief is..

[Mr_cheese]

InUrFoxHole

If you've been here long enough, you'll know that N4G notoriously flips side depending on who delivers.

For a few years, n4g was all xbox during the 360 days and PlayStation got shovelled with hate. That flipped back once Sony straightened itself out and xbox started dropping the ball.

[jznrpg]

People put so much weight on one show. We all know Sony has a lot more to show and have delivered every generation.

[shinoff2183]

Inurfoxhole,

Well Sony has more fans worldwide so it makes sense there's more Sony fans here.

[RedDevils]

master chief sound like someone on the cooking show lmao

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

No one buys an Xbox for Japanese games anyway, no one.

[fr0sty]

No one buys an Xbox either...

[Christopher]

Perhaps make those connections?

[ApocalypseShadow]

PR bullshit.

They didn't invest in Japan so Japan didn't invest in Xbox. That's just the reality. It's not selling there as well because of lack of effort.

They didn't build any studios over there to give Japanese gamers games to play. Even though they have billions to do so. They only gave Japanese gamers what they wanted them to have. Which wasn't much.

Japanese companies aren't warming up to them. It's only because Phil travels to Japan with a checkbook. They are receiving a check to release games on the Xbox platform because porting games is too high risk when a lot of the Xbox community don't buy games but spit out the same, "Is it on game pass?" "I'll wait until it's on game pass." Nonsense.

Not to compare but look, Sony has worldwide studios. Because it makes sense to have different game development perspectives. Sony even has English developers that put in the work and research to make a Japanese game in Ghost of Tsushima. Getting high praise from the location. Sony released PlayStation in China and has projects that cultivate Chinese development talent. They are doing the same in India. You don't see one of the largest companies on the planet doing that.

Whatever Phil says is bullshit. If Xbox was rocking, Japanese developers would be falling over themselves to release games on their system. But Microsoft doesn't care about console sales, has a subscription services that cannibalizes game sales and Microsoft puts no effort into changing things. Only real work they have put in is in buying up third parties. We see many articles on the amount of effort to get Activision. What effort have we seen in them creating Japanese studios or making Japanese games?

Don't bullshit me Phil. You're lying again.

[tehpees3]

If you watch or read any old interviews you'll see they tried to pitch Xbox hard in Japan. They designed 360 to be white and slimmer to aim it at the Japanese market. They invested heavily in JRPGs early in 360's life. They even redesigned the original Xbox controller to suit Japanese tastes more.

The country just didn't bite. There was confirmation later that the rumours that the Xbox was planned to have a Dreamcast chip was true. I wonder if they would have done it back then knowing the position they are in today.

Edit: to explain the 360 being white, this is what confused Microsoft. Black is the colour of death and they argued other systems were black but they changed it anyway.

[plmkoh]

Well in Japan white is the color of death so either it's ironic or it's a bullshit story.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

I'll probably get canceled for this, but the Japanese also tend to be low key xenophobic and stick to their own stuff, so they'll vastly prefer a Japanese company like Nintendo or Sony over Microsoft. That may have been a factor in their inability to gain any momentum in Japanese despite the fact that they have had Japanese games on previous Xbox gens.

Like Plmkoh mentioned, Japan, and I believe some asian countries consider White as the color of death, whereas in the west, black is associated with death.

[Christopher]

@FinalFantasyFanatic they do have a history of being seen as such but tons of American brands are very popular there from iphone to Nike to tons of food/restaurants. It's not impossible to get in, it just takes actual work to make it happen.

[shinoff2183]

I don't think they suited the og controller for the Japanese. The og controllers were behemoth weren't they

Finalfantasyfanatic, I've seen plenty of Americans do or more say the same. Especially a certain crowd

[ApocalypseShadow]

Hope many studios did they make in the last 20 years?

[phoenixwing]

If you call four or five games for a few years putting in the work then that's really the real issue. They need to invest heavy for decades and make real studio's there. Notice I said studios not studio. They should have at least five studios for how much money they have

[RedDevils]

Then why company like Apple succeed?

[Futureshark]

Maybe it's a 'creative decision' eh Phil?

[Hofstaderman]

What happened to decades of promises to get support from Japanese developers?

[Profchaos]

Because Dino crisis 3

[S2Killinit]

“Its a creative decision.” Right phil

[ocelot07]

So what happened to them what seemed like weekly visits to Japan from the snakeoil salesman.

[Flakegriffin]

Because nobody wants an Xbox in Japan.

[DarXyde]

Interesting thing about that: there's a US army base in Okinawa, if I recall (really, where ISN'T there a US base...). You'd think that might move some units. I don't remember where I read it and might be nonsense, but I seem to recall one Xbox 360 being sold on launch day in Japan, and it was to an employee at a store selling them.

People like to say Japan is hyper nationalist, but they bloody love iPhones and places like McDonald's and KFC are quite popular. Culturally, breakdancing and Jamaican culture are not unusual either.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

If you've ever watched any western Youtubers based in Japan, then I do believe that Japan has more nationalist tendencies (Chris Broad in Japan, The Anime Man/Trash Taste boys, Tokyo Portfolio, ect...). Look how hard it is for foreigners to get jobs or rentals there, you can live most of you life there or even be half-Japanese and never be completely accepted there.

[DarXyde]

Finalfantasyfanatic,

Never heard of any of those channels, but Logan Paul didn't do the west any favors with his shenanigans over there which totally violated the culture of respect Japan tries to maintain. I can't speak for everyone, but my experiences in Japan were always pleasant (trust me, you don't get much more foreign from the west than me).

It was perhaps my mistake to steer the discussion into culture. Back in topic, while it may seem like western products don't do well there, I think it is more of a form factor issue. Western products are very often too big and the space restrictions there just don't allow for that. I would also say there is a quality perception issue, especially when they see many westerners buying their products—we don't even have faith in our own stuff. I'm taking a Lexus or Toyota over a Chevy or Cadillac any day, but that's me.

Here's the thing though: Xbox 360 did receive somewhat of a chance in Japan, and they really ended up pissing off Japanese gamers. Remember Tales of Vesperia? That didn't blow over well with the gamers who bought an Xbox just for the game, only to find out it would be on PS3 later.

When it comes down to it, they'll go for it if they see no other choice. And mind you, gaming is a luxury.

[BehindTheRows]

Because they don't sell on it.

[XiNatsuDragnel]

Because Japanese market doesn't like xbox due to their own mistakes tbh.

[CrimsonWing69]

That’s a problem to me

[meanmallard]

It's because they don't sell because you and your fanbase spent 20 years talking shit and blocking games for being "too Japanese for xbox".

Because Microsoft started this console war by trying to eliminate Japanese gaming/studios and consoles as soon as they got a little market share with the 360.

The ONLY reason Microsoft wants Japanese games now is because Sony has them and they are trying to steal anything they can from Sony to damage their profit sources.

If Sony wasn't there they would still be trying to put these companies under like in the 360 days.

[shinoff2183]

Phil fish crowd, or whatever his fkingname was. Braid guy.

I still can't get over that video of him mocking the Japanese guy well not mocking but talking sh about Japanese developers. Everyone on that panel needs slapped the sh out of. Flat out disrespectful

[S2Killinit]

Because xbox fans are mainly fps shooter fans. Of course its a generalization, but to some extent its true. Other types of games dont do as well as they should on xbox.

[gold_drake]

imo
its because japanese games just dont sell well on it.
xbox missed the opportunity bk in the day to support the games, and now its a platform for very specific games with a very specific fanbase.

also, xbox just doesnt sell in japan. like at all.

[TheTony316]

Cause they don't sell on your platform

[TheColbertinator]

Microsoft should have bought Mistwalker. A proper budget would have those guys building a true successor to Final Fantasy

[jznrpg]

Or they could have built there own Japanese studios. I know it’s a crazy idea for MS to make studios but it is a thing that can be done especially when your the richest company ever

[Unknown_Gamer5794]

It’s not a mystery. Xbox does so poorly in Japan that sales of Japanese IPs would depend almost entirely on overseas sales, and even then, they can expect poorer sales than even just the overseas market for Japanese games on PlayStstion and Switch, and that’s before even factoring in the GamePass crowd who would rather play a game on that service than actually buy one.

With even SE telling MS to F off now, it’s no surprise MS offered SEGA a handsome sum to stick around, as if they walk, MS are pretty much only left with Capcom, Bandai Namco, and maybe Konami (if they ever make games). There are a handful of other, mostly larger publishers that occasionally release games on Xbox, but much more sparingly than with other platforms. Others though, skip Xbox entirely.

[shinoff2183]

Blue dragon sold 1 million I think. Could you imagine what it would've sold as multiplatform. Maybe there would've been a sequel. I bought a 360 for blue dragon and lost odyssey, I wasn't into alot of the dude bro stuff

[Unknown_Gamer5794]

And that was on the most successful Xbox to date, and the one that had made enough of a name for itself worldwide that even Japan took notice (even though that was mostly for the international market even then). It has been all downhill from there across the board, but especially where Japan is concerned.

[shinoff2183]

No it's the games not selling. Period. If they sold better they'd be there.

[Melankolis]

Japanese games skip Xbox because Xbox didn't sell in Japan.
Western games skip Playstation because Microsoft bought the publishers.