It’s no secret that Xbox platforms have never been the platform of choice for Japanese games, with very few of them coming to the platform and the ones that do end up selling very poorly. However, there has been some effort on Xbox’s part to try and change that in the past, and it looks like that is still the case to this day.
This was revealed when Xbox boss Phil Spencer was interacting with some fans on Twitter recently about the lack of Japanese game support on Xbox, though he shared some good news about what may lie ahead. When a fan complained about a lack of third party Japanese support, he replied with “I was encouraged by a trip to Japan. More work to do but I’m committed to working with Japanese publishers.”
When another fan brought up the fact that Japanese games sell poorly when they do come to Xbox platforms, Spencer replied with “Japanese publishers who build games that they believe have a worldwide audience want Xbox success. FFXV an example.” However, when another fan mentioned more niche titles like Persona 5 coming to Xbox One, Spencer replied with “Yes, visit to Japan confirmed for me we’d be seeing these coming <and yes I know I’ve said this before>”
It’s definitely going to be a difficult task on Microsoft’s part in trying to improve the appeal of Japanese games on an Xbox platform, as just about any other major platform on the market enjoys much more success with these types of games. PlayStation, PC, and even Nintendo platforms enjoy much more success in this particular field, and whether or not that can ever be turned around remains to be seen. Games like Persona 5 or Yakuza 0 usually come along as PlayStation exclusives and remain that way, even if there are many who would like to see them come to Xbox.
