Can you imagine?
“XBOX JAPAN IS:
Shinji Mikami
Hideo Kojima
Goro Majima”
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It’s highly possible in my opinion, maybe Shinji can even put in good word for him… “Phil-san is crazy, I have absolute freedom and money to do whatever…”
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I’d go crazy if they somehow managed to get White Owls and Grasshopper Manufacturing.
Suda 51 and Swery65 together sounds awesome. Not to mention maybe they’d get Mikami on board in some capacity.
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I think that a good catch that could make some crazy stuff with money is Cyberconnect2.
They know how to make absolute amazing graphics and animation, what if they made the next big JRPG? Or could even make a jump fighting game.
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A lot of people dismiss Kojima, but I think he would be one of the few people to actually make an actual good cloud game since he wants to create to create new genres like with the ‘strand’ thing with death stranding. If the Google / kojima rumors were true, and the statue does mean something, maybe we get something from kojima.
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Don’t even care about any Kojima game but having him associated to the xbox brand is GIGANTIC. Like enourmous.
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Hironobu Sakaguchi please.
Thank you.
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Exactly how I feel about him, but he would bring prestige and potential GOTY nominee type of game.
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I loved Asura’s Wrath and enjoy the Naruto games, so I’m always down for CC2.
I would only throw Mistwalker in there if Sakaguchi is in a Brian Fargo situation where if the company got acquired he’d want to keep making games for longer. With his age I’m concerned about him wanting to retire soon (and iirc Mistwalker is a very small team in the first place).
Otherwise, yes, if he would be interested in staying for at least another couple games I’d love to throw Sakaguchi up there.
Then throw Suda, Swery, Tabata, and Toyama.
Yes, obviously I’m getting a little wild here, but I’m excited to see where Xbox will go with Japan, both partnership and acquisition wise.
Japan Will be the next big thing for Xbox to focus on, I’m sure.
They secured a nice place in the west with the Bethesda acquisition, of course they need more E-rated games, but they lack Japanese games like no tomorrow.
I’m sure Phil will go to Japan and treat Shinji like a king to set precedent for other Japanese devs, I’m sure Shinji will have everything he needs and more. Phil needs to show Japan what he wants and Tango will be that channel.
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I wonder if it would be worth taking a look at emerging Asian markets like China or South Korea.
I’m sure it would, but I’m sure Japan is the highest priority right now, they won’t rest until they have something solid in there.
I hope so. I want Phil to do in Japan what he did here with The Initiative. Maybe even 2 new studios from the ground up with an all-star staff. This is my personal wish. Not sure how realistic that would be.
This is of course besides all the other deals that they, hopefully, will be doing in Japan. Acquire studio/pubs in Japan if possible AND still create 1-2 new studios from the ground up with an all-star staff. If FromSoft is off the table, I would love if MS created a new studio in Japan that strives for that style, just bigger and better. What I wouldn’t give for a modernized Ninja Gaiden type of game done right.
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yeah, I do feel its the one missing thing in the xbox puzzle. It’s funny becuase in the 360 gen xbox had tons of Japanese games, and some interesting Japanese exclusives.
I do feel Microsoft might should invest in China and Korea because I feel they might have a boom one of these days, and would be interesting if they accelerate it
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Outside of the big Japanese publishers (who likely aren’t interested in selling), what acquisition can MS do that will actually move the needle? Are these studios that you guys talk about capable of making games that will draw people into the ecosystem?
I think sometimes folks are more interested in having a presence in Japan than the actual output (and impact) of those studios.
They could get lucky and get a Lost Odyssey type of game. I am not expecting the big ones like Capcom or Square, but could see Microsoft partnering with an important dev to create their game. heck Microsoft last gen had Kamiya making scalebound, so I can see something similar to that happen.
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If we’re looking at impact and sheer potential, I think a few of the devs that would really move the needle in Japan (and worldwide) that seem vaguely possible are:
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Kojima Productions - this one is self explanatory
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Bokeh Game Studio - the creator of Silent Hill and Gravity Rush, Toyama. Their first game is a multi platform horror title and it seems they’re gathering ex-Sony Japan Studio talent. If you give this guy creative freedom to do whatever he wants I’m sure we could see more great things out of him and the team.
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CyberConnect 2 - Best known for the .hack, Asura’s Wrath, DBZ Kakarot, and Naruto titles. These guys have been in the industry since 1996 (25 years!) and have lately been focused on licensed titles. Asura’s Wrath showed what the team could do with an original IP and I’d be all for them making a brand new game again. They currently have 4 projects in the works (3 of them seem to be self published according to Wikipedia) all of which are coming to Xbox. I would be curious if Square cutting them from FFVIIR hurt them badly or not.
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Level 5 - If they’re really in need of financial help, and Phil and Matt can at least talk with them a bit, I could see them making a comeback. This is also one of the biggest culprits that skip Xbox. If Xbox could bring them on board, not only would future games be coming to the platform, but also they have a good library of games to bring on too. Ni no Kuni and Yo-kai Watch are their most recent, big hits.
PlatinumGames is a wildcard and I have no idea what will happen here. We’ll see how self-publishing goes for them. If they run into problems, I wouldn’t be surprised if Xbox approached them again about either a partnership or acquisition (as Brad Sams himself alluded they did in the past before taking Tencent money).
Studios like White Owls, Grasshopper, FromSoftware, etc. sadly are either already owned, aren’t a “move the needle” type of company on the scale these others are, or just aren’t likely for acquisition… I’m sure I’m forgetting some potential ones though.
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I totally agree FromSoftware would be a huge boon for Xbox, but they fit under the “already owned” and just “not likely to happen” for me personally due to them being owned by Kadakowa, Sony investing a small amount into Kadakowa, and that strong partnership between them and Playstation already existing (mainly with Bloodborne). Phil is definitely doing his best though to make sure FromSoftware games continue to release on Xbox (and make sure Miyazaki and him are in contact) per all his praises for Elden Ring over the last year.
Sure, Microsoft could throw money, but we could make that argument for any studio/publisher at this point.
If FromSoftware joined Xbox though, I would lose my damn mind. In a good way.
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I still think the #1 priority should be making sure they secure what they need to be #1 in the US and take steps to do that in Europe too. They should definitely make moves in Asia to pick up some in that market, but it’s a distant 3rd in priorities right now. It’s just so much more of an up hill battle in Japan and xcloud needs to be prevelant and easily available on almost all devices before that push imo.
That means acquiring they need to add another highly regarded IP in the US and someone to work on games with appeal for all ages. Then they need to find some IP that are dominant in Europe and acquire those devs.
Of course the dev/pub that does almost all of that and adds to Japan is Sega, so that makes a ton of sense but otherwise I don’t expect their move to be in Japan unless it’s Sega or included with 3+ other acquisitions.
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I kind of agree. Sony isn’t even really selling a ton of consoles in Japan anymore yet they still get a ton of support. A stronger Xbox in the west will result in strengthened third party support. It is also much easier to accomplish.
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