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You're tasked with saving Xbox in Japan. What do you do?
- Thread starter MysticGon
- Start date
nothing because this topic has been asked a thousand times and the situation hasn't changed at all
I tell them I know all about Japanese culture from Anime. They respect me for watching Anime and the women throw themselves at me because come on, a weeaboo gamer is the ultimate Chad.
Also I make a new Halo Anime.
Also I make a new Halo Anime.
Make a Manchurian Candidate style shell company, make arcade/pachinko games, mobile games, and a Switch competitor.
Change the name, hide any involvement from Microsoft & start a dummy company tailored towards JP sensibilities. I also don't release any Western made FPS on the JP console to keep people off the trail.
I buy Sega, revive a bunch of old properties and make all Atlus games exclusives. Wanna play Persona? You know which console to buy.
Keep the trajectory they're doing now. Pay for ports, keep talking to Japanese Devs to get them on board, get gamepass launched in Japan sooner than later.
MS will never lead in Japan, but they can definitely get back to the 360-era if they treat the region with respect.
Eh, I wouldn't say things haven't changed. They did get worse though compared to the momentum they had from OG Xbox to 360. Since it was clear Japan was not a major thought for them when pushing Xb1. Regardless of that things are getting better now. Japanese players are finally getting games they've been wanting (there was a lot of excitement for Yakuza 0) and there are plans for gamepass to finally hit over there.
MS will never be a big player in Japan and it'll never be a are they can win. But getting things back to the 360 level would be good. That was a time where they were a strong niche and did well for what they were. I'm still surprised how much 360 stuff I found just walking around japan regularly and not even going out of my way to find it. Especially when compared to the null the Xbox One had.
MS will never lead in Japan, but they can definitely get back to the 360-era if they treat the region with respect.
Eh, I wouldn't say things haven't changed. They did get worse though compared to the momentum they had from OG Xbox to 360. Since it was clear Japan was not a major thought for them when pushing Xb1. Regardless of that things are getting better now. Japanese players are finally getting games they've been wanting (there was a lot of excitement for Yakuza 0) and there are plans for gamepass to finally hit over there.
MS will never be a big player in Japan and it'll never be a are they can win. But getting things back to the 360 level would be good. That was a time where they were a strong niche and did well for what they were. I'm still surprised how much 360 stuff I found just walking around japan regularly and not even going out of my way to find it. Especially when compared to the null the Xbox One had.
Buy Sega, Capcom, and Fromsoft, get all of their catalogs on xcloud, Xbox, pc, and switch. To win the Asian market after being behind nearly 20 years you need a full assault.
Lockdown remasters, ports, and other new exclusives from nearly every Japanese studio and create a new mobile game studio under Xbox game studios
Microsoft has enough capital to do nearly anything and own any market in the gaming space it's all about is it worth it to the company as a whole or just to console warriors.
Lockdown remasters, ports, and other new exclusives from nearly every Japanese studio and create a new mobile game studio under Xbox game studios
Microsoft has enough capital to do nearly anything and own any market in the gaming space it's all about is it worth it to the company as a whole or just to console warriors.
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Anything short of buying Nintendo or to a lesser extent, Sony, would lead to continued irrelevance.
Fund a construction project that builds additions on Japanese homes so that they can accommodate a Series X.
Launch a first party division dedicated to gacha phone games. Hire the top animu artists in the field of waifu to create the "assets" for the games.
It's either that or buy Nintendo. They could make 10 first party games with the budget of Lost Odyssey without it helping. The Xbox brand is not in great shape there. I doubt people are that into streaming either when Nintendo offers portable console quality games already.
It's either that or buy Nintendo. They could make 10 first party games with the budget of Lost Odyssey without it helping. The Xbox brand is not in great shape there. I doubt people are that into streaming either when Nintendo offers portable console quality games already.
Tell the Japanese I am an expert on Japanese culture.
Then try to buy Sony and Nintendo, get told no and finally spend the money on a drunken binge with Tak Fuji.
Then try to buy Sony and Nintendo, get told no and finally spend the money on a drunken binge with Tak Fuji.
Forget the (physical) console space; no one else in Japan thinks about you in that capacity, anyway.
Instead tell everyone in Japan that Xbox = Xcloud/Azure. Transiting to work? Of course you are. Play some Xbox on your phone.
Then hope that the console experience really does translate well to mobile (touch controls as integrated buttons, etc). If so, maybe you can sell some Game Pass subscriptions in Japan.
Instead tell everyone in Japan that Xbox = Xcloud/Azure. Transiting to work? Of course you are. Play some Xbox on your phone.
Then hope that the console experience really does translate well to mobile (touch controls as integrated buttons, etc). If so, maybe you can sell some Game Pass subscriptions in Japan.
If it's the brand, and not the hardware?
Do what it takes to get GamePass on the Switch, I think. Incorporate XCloud streaming for games that won't run natively. Make sure localizations for key games are available. Market the hell out of it, and get some good Japan-oriented exclusives that are only on XCloud.
Also possible: make a really slick official cell phone controller dock accessory that's XCloud-compatible. Again, the games and marketing need to be there.
I don't think there's any world in which dedicated XBox console hardware will do well, but a focus on portables + streaming (with Japan's comparatively great internet speeds and latency) might work out.
Do what it takes to get GamePass on the Switch, I think. Incorporate XCloud streaming for games that won't run natively. Make sure localizations for key games are available. Market the hell out of it, and get some good Japan-oriented exclusives that are only on XCloud.
Also possible: make a really slick official cell phone controller dock accessory that's XCloud-compatible. Again, the games and marketing need to be there.
I don't think there's any world in which dedicated XBox console hardware will do well, but a focus on portables + streaming (with Japan's comparatively great internet speeds and latency) might work out.
What they did with 360 and japanese game support for the launch of the 360 was great but instead of abandoning all of them after they launch their game, they would get continued support.
Actually very curious who was in command to get all those great jrpgs on 360.
Actually very curious who was in command to get all those great jrpgs on 360.
You know what, I think you may have something here.
Sega Mega Drive Series X (SMDSX)
Not bother releasing Xbox consoles in Japan (they barely sell at all and should just be extra stock for the west) and instead just make Nintendo systems the primary destination for Japanese games and family IPs that Microsoft owns, like Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey, Blinx, Banjo-Kazooie, etc. Making sure to self-publish them to rake in all the profits.
Minecraft on Switch is well over a million sold on Switch in Japan and was self-published by Microsoft Japan. It is by far their highest selling game of all-time in Japan.
Minecraft on Switch is well over a million sold on Switch in Japan and was self-published by Microsoft Japan. It is by far their highest selling game of all-time in Japan.
That got a chuckle out of me lol. But seriously, that is the only strategy that would work.
This is both a simple and difficult question, as the Xbox brand has never been particularly popular in Japan for various reasons. As such I feel a focus on niche titles may be the best bet, essentially with Sony's shift to a more Western brand including moving the HQ to California, try to use the money from said check to outreach to smaller developers and various AA teams. Nippon Ichi Studios is in a bad spot right now but has some solid IPs people adore, so it'd certainly be doable to give them the cash they need to finish the new Coven of Dusk sequel and as a stipulation make it an Xbox One timed exclusive, possibly revive some older IPs like Soul Nomad as exclusives.
NIS, Idea Factory, companies like these give a decent niche to their competition so funding them to make Xbox exclusives would help a lot towards increasing brand adoption and retention and aren't so big that they wouldn't care about financial assistance. Get some new studios based in Japan through that Xbox Japan branch to make more bizzare and experimental stuff like what the original Xbox and early 360 had. Maybe even try to get Marvelous to switch development of Senran Kagura 7Even from Playstation to Xbox if the creator is willing to return to working on it, then he could make the game he wanted as an Xbox exclusive and a brand like SK would bring in plenty of people if Playstation simply wasn't an option.
Outreach and expand, convince developers that you want to see their visions come to life unhindered and the gamers will come along for the ride.
Also avoid canceling anything because it probably hurt their rep when Scalebound fell apart.
NIS, Idea Factory, companies like these give a decent niche to their competition so funding them to make Xbox exclusives would help a lot towards increasing brand adoption and retention and aren't so big that they wouldn't care about financial assistance. Get some new studios based in Japan through that Xbox Japan branch to make more bizzare and experimental stuff like what the original Xbox and early 360 had. Maybe even try to get Marvelous to switch development of Senran Kagura 7Even from Playstation to Xbox if the creator is willing to return to working on it, then he could make the game he wanted as an Xbox exclusive and a brand like SK would bring in plenty of people if Playstation simply wasn't an option.
Outreach and expand, convince developers that you want to see their visions come to life unhindered and the gamers will come along for the ride.
Also avoid canceling anything because it probably hurt their rep when Scalebound fell apart.
I don't even release a console.. I release a handheld which will have it's own library of games, and any game that would function from Xbox consoles on the handheld, I would release. I would put up money to get exclusive made Japanese games and focus a lot on the type of games that are popular over there and try to make some new IP to appeal to that base.