I mean with the talking Phil has been doing in Japan, the best results he’s got are Yakuza on XGP, and very late ports of games that have been out for years. Expecting him to convince Sega/Capcom to join him? He’d get laughed out the building
Capcom is definitely the leanest Japanese publisher. The others run non-gaming business that Microsoft would have no interest in e.g. Bandai’s huge toy business or SegaSammy’s resorts. But I also highly doubt the Tsujimoto family is willing to sell, especially not to Microsoft.
4 Likes
I mean capcom almost did before lmao
1 Like
Sega would definitely require some logistical finesse (severing the amusement parks/non-gaming sectors), but I think the diversity of the portfolio and developers make them a smarter purchase than Capcom. Some on the XboxEra podcast agree from a business sensibility standpoint as well.
Edit: that said, if Capcom were on the table I would still be ecstatic. I tend to like a lot more games and developers than most.
1 Like
In that scenario many people lose thier jobs. Which is a PR disaster for MS. Damages the image of MS and Xbox even more so in Japan
For me, they should invest in the country. Fund games from Capcom, Sega, Namco, whilst keeping hands off as much as possible. Acquiring is something I hate to see in Japan
1 Like
We have to be realistic. Gamers and Gaming execs are NEVER going to be adults. 
1 Like
if you had the option between warner bros or take two which would you take? it’s a tough choice for me. I feel like wb would cover more areas because of the dev talent but most likely u would not get the ips. Take two you get the biggest ips but they only ship them every 7+ years
Edit: whoops didnt mean to reply
I only see Sega and Capcom as “realistic” targets because of how closely they worked together in the OG Xbox and 360 eras, respectively, but that was before they both found a second wind. Now it would be an extremely hard sell. Basically any Japanese pub that gets picked up by Microsoft had a horrific generation and selling was the last resort.
1 Like
WB
2 Likes
Take Two. You own the IP in that scenario and they are absolutely must play games for gamers. It seems like their strategy is to build capability out to reach 3 billion gamers by first securing core gamers, so securing must haves like Bioshock, GTA, Red Dead, Borderlands, Civilization and XCOM is perfect. They also have really appealing IP to revive in Bully, LA Noire and MaxPayne.
In my opinion those would get gamepass rolling faster than WB would, although the E rated content would be missing in Take two so you’d need to do something to build that out.
1 Like
Thats the thing with them though. They halted development of those ips in favor for gta and red dead. I think bully 2 got canned like 3 different times I know they confirmed a new bioshock but its been years for that too. I don’t think Microsoft would want studios that would have had to take 4+ years in between games, but ur right the ip alone would be crazy.
1 Like
They have studios and big IP that take that long now. This would almost ensure they have the most anticipated game every single year.
1 Like
If you hear all Xbox execs talk, they hint that Tencent is on course to launch their own service. So, don’t believe for a second that all these will be multiplat for long.
you’re right it could work now considering that they have games like elderscrolls now, might make the wait feel shorter than it really is.
1 Like
I don’t see any Japanese publisher selling out to Microsoft or any U.S. company for that matter. Japanese culture is way different and for those that run those companies, it’s all about tradition and history. They would all let their companies die out or sell to other Japanese companies before ever selling to a U.S. company including Microsoft.
Square Enix is a far better fit with Sony than with Microsoft so eliminate them. And it doesn’t matter what happened 20 years ago because it means nothing now.
Capcom is doing great and unlike Square Enix, rarely if ever do timed console exclusive deals. Only one I can remember is Dead Rising 4 which bombed and killed the series. Capcom will do a full exclusive deal though. They did Dead Rising and Dead Rising 3 for Xbox 360 and Xbox One respectively while giving Sony Street Fighter V. This I can see as much more likely. I would love a reboot to Dino Crisis and if Microsoft would be willing to fund it and stay out of Capcom’s way, I can see it happening but acquiring Capcom when they’re currently the most successful that they’ve been in a long ass time, no way.
Sega is probably the most likely to be acquired but is also the most puzzling to me. Their games are on a decline outside of Persona. Even in Japan, their Yakuza games and spinoffs have declined. They also have way too many other divisions that are either non-gaming related or divisions that Microsoft would have no interest in.
Overall, the best and only thing that Microsoft should do is ensure that Xbox Series X/S gets the games the same day as PlayStation 5. That in of itself is a massive win.
Microsoft needs to concentrate on their home turf first and foremost because that’s where the vast majority of their fan base is. Europe/U.K. I believe is second for them so they should make those regions a priority as well.
Japan isn’t into console gaming at all and has never cared about Microsoft and Xbox. Acquiring a Japanese publisher or developer simply isn’t going to change that and if anything, Japanese consumers would probably look at the publisher or developer as a sellout and never buy their games anyway.
Microsoft/Xbox should use X-Cloud and if anything, acquire a few popular mobile game developers because that’s far more likely to help them succeed in Japan than any publisher or developer not named Nintendo.
With that said, if by some miracle Microsoft was to acquire a Japanese publisher, my pick by far would be Capcom. Monster Hunter is fucking massive and fits in perfectly with Microsoft’s live service direction and Game Pass would make it even better. Street Fighter would be somewhat big and solve the void they have in the fighting genre. And of course, they have the great Resident Evil (current and remakes) franchise plus Devil May Cry which is also great. They could always reboot Dino Crisis, Onimusha and Dragon’s Dogma.
Either way, it’s going to be a very interesting year.
2 Likes
I have my issues with MS acquiring WB, but man them compared to Take 2 is night and day. WB would be way cheaper, and can make a game every 4 years under the right management. It’s the opposite with Take 2
Going along with a Private Equity firm is NEVER smart. The mission statement of a PE firm is to optimize a company – always. This looks like a decision taken in desperation to be independent. Very strange. They have publishing deals, they have partnerships in place with Xbox – I don’t understand the urgency.
If you want more Xbox content from Japan, then imo you just open up another branch of Tango in another city and bulk up both locations. Tango is a medium sized developer and could easily become a large, multi-team company that fulfils Mikami’s original intention of being a place to incubate young developers in Japan.
Keeping existing publishers sweet should be a priority. Like if the next ATLUS game doesn’t come to PC and Xbox day one, I’d consider that a failure in developer relations.
6 Likes
I really don’t understand why atlas acts way it does