According to Bloomberg, Microsoft is looking to build some ground in Japan with Xbox soon. Xbox doesn’t have much of a presence in Japan but they’re looking into services and Japanese 3rd party deals. In particular, Koei Tecmo is willing to consider bringing more games to Xbox if Microsoft continues to show interest in Japan. Microsoft wants to bring in the Japanese audience to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate whether it’s on Xbox platforms, PC or an alternative method.
This comes at an interesting time as Sony’s headquarters moved from Japan to California. Bloomberg says Sony’s US HQ is not pleased with PS4’s sakes in Japan as even the Switch outsold it in record time. According to anonymous employees at Sony, this is the fault of Sony’s Japanese marketing team. As a result, Japan has been “sidelined” for PS5’s launch promotion. That being said, Sony still claims that Japan is a home market with tons of games to come. Analysts in Japan like Kazunori Ito state the following:
“It’s analyst consensus that PlayStation no longer sees the Japan market as important,” Morningstar Research analyst Kazunori Ito said. “If you want to know their take on the Japanese market, you need to ask about it because otherwise Sony wouldn’t talk about it.”
Microsoft is looking to take chances as the slightest misstep from Sony could land Xbox with units sold in Japan. Although, that’s much easier said than done right now. Microsoft is reportedly looking into possible studio acquisitions in Japan as well but that remains to be seen. In the meantime, Microsoft and Sony release Xbox Series X|S and PS5 in Japan this week. It will be an interesting start to a new generation of consoles and games alike.
Stay tuned at Final Weapon for the latest Japanese gaming news and updates!
