The Xbox 360 isn’t exactly booming in Japan, but it has certainly found its own comfortable niche amongst fans of visual novels and shoot-em-ups. Developers like Cave have supported the system with some of their best games so far, and have more on the way this year.
A fair number of 5pb’s games are exclusive to the Xbox 360, too, such as the upcoming Phantom Breaker and Ever17 remake. We asked 5pb founder and executive director, Chiyomaru Shikura, what his thoughts are on the Xbox 360’s market in Japan.
“We’re not focusing on the hardware capabilities, but rather the users who use this console,” Shikura told us. “The Japanese Xbox 360 users love games dearly, and their ability to increase their community is also exceptionally high. Games that don’t get the community roused up are boring, and they don’t sell well anyways.”
So, in a nutshell, Shikura believes that word-of-mouth plays an important role in the Xbox 360 market in Japan. This makes sense, considering that a smaller, more niche community could also mean a closer community.
