The leader of the Microsoft video game department wants to continue expanding the power of Xbox in Japan. He has a plan and has already made several trips.
Phil Spencer, head of Xbox, believes that the situation of the brand in Japan must change urgently for the immediate future. The console, which has a very small market share in the country of the Rising Sun, faces a year 2020 marked by communication, as it is in these months that they will try to convince millions of players that they should buy an Xbox console and not the options of the competition, with PS5 as a main competitor.
"The Japanese Xbox market is important to us,"
It has been during an interview with Gametag Radio where the vice president of the Microsoft videogames division has also spoken long and hard about the Japanese market. In his words, it is "unacceptable" to sell so little. According to Famitsu weekly reports, Xbox One sells about 50 weekly units; consoles like Nintendo Switch sell between 30,000 and 50,000 units every seven days.
Phil Spencer
"The Japanese Xbox market is important to us," Spencer begins. “Evidently, Sony and Nintendo are two solid Japanese companies there; They are doing a great job. I don't know if we will succeed in Japan in the short term, but for me the position we have now as a platform is unacceptable. ”
This same week, Spencer explained the reason for the lack of exclusives in Xbox Series X, as Xbox Game Studios titles will be released intergenerationally on Xbox One and the new generation during the first two years. In any case, Spencer is clear: to recover the lost ground they will have to risk and, therefore, has promised that they will be brave in their decisions.
The future of Xbox Game Pass also contemplates the Japanese video game AAA.
Phil Spencer's trips in Japan are not in vain
On January 21 we learned that Phil Spencer was traveling back to Japan to close agreements and continue with some negotiations already underway; all after his first approach in 2019, which had its fruits.
From the trip to 2019, Spencer managed to close the arrival in the future of the Yakuza saga to Xbox Game Pass, as well as all deliveries from Kingdom Hearts to Xbox One as a retail product; and a considerable amount of Final Fantasy titles for the on-demand video game service for the company.
That trip was described by the manager as very satisfactory, although, for now, we do not know what he will have won for the Xbox brand, which already has its sights set on the next generation. The first model of this cycle is called Xbox Series X and will arrive at Christmas 2020 with at least Halo: Infinite. Another aspect to consider is that Xbox Series X will be backward compatible with games and peripherals.
Source | Gametag Radio (via Gamingbolt)
