The head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, has said that he would be interested in taking over a video game development studio in Japan.
At Microsoft’s Xbox E3 2019 Briefing, Phil said that Xbox users have expressed interest in exclusive titles from Japanese developers for some time as most Xbox One exclusives have been made by Western studios.
An experienced Japanese game studio could be a great investment for Microsoft since Japanese role-playing games aren’t that common on the Xbox and could have a positive effect on future sales of Xbox in Japan which have been abysmal in recent years.
Phil Spencer said in a recent interview with Gamesindustry…
I think it would be nice if we found an Asian studio, in particular, a Japanese studio, to add to our studios. I liked it when we had some first-party capability in Japan. We have a small team there, but I think we can do more. That said, through our trips to Japan, I love having Phantasy Star back on our stage with Sega – I thought that was fantastic. Miyazaki-san, before with Dark Souls and now having Elden Ring on our stage… the Japanese creators have shown up more and more.
Whether a Japanese studio will join Xbox game studios to create exclusive titles remains to be seen – but it would no doubt be good for Xbox users if it happens, and the fact that they’re more than open to the idea is a positive sign.
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