Maybe Level 5, huge studio capable of hitting the ground running I suppose
Xbox doesn’t necessarily need japanese studios – it need IPs popular in Japan. Intelectual properties that are so big in Japan that would almost force them to get an Xbox / subscribe to Game Pass. Most of the times the studios don’t want to part ways with its IPs, though, hence the studio ends up in the deal aswell.
Persona and Yakuza are both big hits in Japan. Imagine acquiring Sega and making those franchises Game Pass exclusives?
Probably not gonna happen, though.
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What if this whole entire time Koei and SEGA were just a distraction while the real target is CAPCOM/Bandai Namco?
I kid. I kid.
Would not be surprised to see Scarlet Nexus be day one on Game Pass though.
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I don’t think xbox is interested in making another studio from scratch.
Xbox doesnt need to buy japanese studios to fix its issues it just has to get the ones that skip the platform on it and thats it (for now).
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Yeah, Satya made that pretty clear imo.
Like sure, if it’s a new studio about to release a game? Maybe. Not from the ground up though.
100%
Look at Initiative. Been running for years and we barely teased their game months ago and may not come out in the next 2 years if possible. Its too much investment for the turnout to be what it is.
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Plus, a japanese studio doesn’t really matter to appeal the japanese market per se. What would appeal is if the studio was headed by some big japanese creators.
One of them would be Shinji Mikami, who is already a Microsoft employee (!!).
Who else? Hideo Kojima and Yu Suzuki are the only ones who I could think of. Fumito Ueda would also be a huge get, especially with the downfall of Sony’s Japan Studio.
Edit: Maybe Koji Igarashi?
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You know how big it would be just to get a Kojima game on xbox (I dont care for his games personally)? Id do it just for the brand boost and media coverage xbox would get.
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Btw, it’s wild to think about all those industry giants that are now under the Xbox umbrella.
Shinji Mikami, Tim Schafer, Brian Fargo, Todd Howard, Tim Cain…
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The big thing is talent and IP.
Whether that means getting a studio with constant, quality output (like CyberConnect2), getting a storied developer with multiple, niche titles (but a huge backlog, like Nihon Falcom), getting major studio leads (like Mikami, Kojima, Toyama, Miyazaki, etc.) it could really go anywhere.
Xbox has a lot of options, but also a lot of work to do. They’re making strides faster than I ever thought possible (2 years ago, there was no chance in hell I’d believe Persona would be coming to Xbox, now I think it could be this year!)
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Speaking of talent (not necessarily japanese), what is Ken Levine up to these days?
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He runs Ghost Story Games, which was built under 2K after Irrational was closed down.
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Damn, so he is still a 2K employee? That sucks
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I think a Kojima that is reeled in and not allowed to get carried away would be a great asset.
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All I’m going to say is that there are some that are adamant about who is and who isn’t a target, despite evidence and precedence contradicting those very opinions. All I’ll say is that from what I’ve been told, those people are wrong. Phil’s recent statements alone are the only evidence you’d need though.
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I think tying down Kojima from being… Kojima would be a very bad precedent for Xbox’s efforts in both acquiring and partnerships in Japan. Goes against their messaging as of late.
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Couldn’t agree more.
Edit: by that I don’t mean dictate what the man makes, but a co-director of sorts that could tone down the perversion and rambling diatribes.
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It really is… as I’m playing Evil Within (I’m a coward as I’ve gotten older, and I’ve had this game for six years and still haven’t beaten it). But seriously, the number of veteran developers under the Xbox umbrella is unprecedented, and to think that number will continue to grow is insane.
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Very true. I still vividly remember those same people saying a publisher acquisition would never happen and we all saw how that turned out. Not a single person knew anything about it.
Common sense tells me that if your goal is to make Gamepass the Netflix or gaming so to say, to appeal to 2-3B gamers, you need to have exclusive enticing content that you can only get on gamepass. And you need all sorts of content to cater towards every big market. That’s not going to happen if you don’t massively invest in Asia/Europe as well besides US.
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At this point of time, I’m guessing that Bandai and Square might be more likely than Capcom or Sega. All you have to look at is who is doing more one year or two year exclusives to understand their financial situation.
Also weren’t there reports that Stadia has flooded Capcom with silly cash for porting. And Sega had a smashing year ratings wise.