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Microsoft’s Tokyo Game Show Line Up Is Light On Japanese Partnerships

By Spencer . September 8, 2011 . 1:00pm

Microsofts Tokyo Game Show Line Up Is Light On Japanese Partnerships Microsoft Japan usually has a surprise or two for Tokyo Game Show. In 2007, they announced a deal with Team Ninja to publish Ninja Gaiden II, Rez HD, and Triggerheart Exelica. Ninja Blade, a game developed by From Software and published by Microsoft, was show in 2008. Their 2009 booth had Mushihime-sama Futari Ver 1.5 from Cave and was the unveiling of Ninety-Nine Nights II.

 

In 2010, Microsoft announced a few Kinect games developed by partners in Japan like Project Draco, Haunt, and codename D (aka Diabolical Pitch) plus an Xbox Live Arcade version of Fire Pro Wrestling.

 

All of those are missing from their Tokyo Game Show lineup, which has the following games:

Ace Combat: Assault Horizon

Binary Doman

Child of Eden

Dance Central

Dead Island

Dragon’s Dogma

Final Fantasy XIII-2

Forza Motorsport 4

Gears of War 3

Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary

Kinect Disneyland Adventures

Kinect Sports: Season 2

Kinect Star Wars

Lollipop Chainsaw

Michael Jackson: The Experience

Ninja Gaiden 3

Onechanbara Z: Kagura

Ougon Musou Kyoku X

Rage

Soulcalibur V

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

 

Microsofts Tokyo Game Show Line Up Is Light On Japanese Partnerships Microsofts Tokyo Game Show Line Up Is Light On Japanese Partnerships

We hear Diabolical Pitch will be revealed during Tokyo Game Show, so maybe Microsoft has something up their sleeves. However, the list is light on initiatives originated by Microsoft Japan, especially after they announced all of those developed Kinect games last year. It’s a stark change from their gung-ho attitude when Microsoft launched the Xbox 360 in Japan. They partnered with Mistwalker to create RPGs Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey and got Square Enix to make a Final Fantasy XI port. Microsoft even dabbled in localizing Western games for Japan too. Overlord, a Codemasters title, was translated and published by Microsoft Japan.

 

A few years ago, Microsoft Japan’s mindset was domination. Doesn’t quite seem that way anymore.


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  • aoihana

    Maybe Microsoft is starting to realize it may not be worth all that effort anymore in a region dominated by the PS3. But I do hope they actually just have something awesome under their sleeve, even if it is most likely region locked.

    • malek86

      If they do choose to show something, chances are they’ll be the publisher, in which case it would probably see a worldwide release.

      But I doubt they have anything in store this time. It looks like they have effectively given up.

    • http://twitter.com/Megawarrior345 Elle

      *PSP

      lol but I doubt they have anything new to show unless it’s new footage of said games.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_EUSPDCE22Z6ETYY3W5XRZ2SFZU Darrel

    Where is Lost Odyssey​ 2?​

    • http://twitter.com/manasteel88 Mana

      On that note, where is Blue Dragon 2?

  • godmars

    Maybe they’re just accidental omissions. 

  • mikanko

    No news about Project Draco in a year makes me sad. =(

  • http://myanimelist.net/profile/Kuronoa Kuronoa

    Microsoft needs in-house studios in Japan instead of hiring so many grunts to do their work.

    I wonder if Microsoft will make the next XBOX western only if they cannot keep up in the East.  Would be interesting to see, as they have the PC market to double up defense.

    • aoihana

      Heh, my thoughts exactly, but as long as it makes them a profit, big or small, they’ll continue to do what they do. 

    • godmars

      I very much question MS’s ability to manage in house devs given the exact state said same is in after all this time.

    • malek86

      I think it would be for the best if they focused on Europe instead of Japan next time. They’ve effectively conquered the USA, but their european sales are low in comparison to the PS3… albeit still much better than the Xbox, so there’s definitely room for growth there. But that won’t happen, because they’ll probably insist in Japan.

      The PC market might go out of the equation, if it’s not already. For all intents and purposes, 360/PS3 version game sales are much higher than PC version sales, and the next Windows 8 looks like it will be mostly geared toward mobile/internet functionality instead.

      • aoihana

        The PC market may be behind sales, but actually Windows 8 is geared towards gaming. In fact, Microsoft said it hopes to pump life back into PC gaming. But maybe they have changed their position on that.

        • malek86

          Yeah, they said that when they joined the PC Gaming Alliance too. Didn’t make much of an effort to help though. Albeit, to be honest, I’m not sure what exactly the PCGA was supposed to accomplish anyway.

          The PC market obviously will remain, but I think the bulk of the sales will come from casual games, not console ports.

      • http://myanimelist.net/profile/Kuronoa Kuronoa

        Hmm… now that you mention mobile, I wonder if Microsoft will try and strengthen Windows Phone for tackling the Japanese market.

      • HistorysGreatestMonster

        I think they have a definite chance of conquering Europe, but Japan? They might as well give up on it, next time around.

    • http://twitter.com/furdworetzky Fur Dworetzky

      I think as long as they make a profit out of Japan, you will continue to see the console there. It is still a favorite platform for very niche games and indie developers there.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Stephen-Mc-Devitt/100002626261475 Stephen Mc Devitt

    Somehow I feel like Sony will prevail in the end with Nintendo’s Wii U rumored to be broken and the sudden news of the 3DS getting another analog nub just when the PS Vita seems to the be sudden attention despite the infamous hack on PSN.

    Really ironic when you compare how the Wii and PS3 did in 2006.

    Microsoft is doing no better themselves. They may be doing worse by trying appeal to a target audience Nintendo already milked dry.

    • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jordan-White/100000598242336 Jordan White

      It WAS broken due to the conflict between the chips in the Wii U controller and the POWER7 processor. That’s fixed now.

      And the second analog nub is an option add on for the 3DS getting the better Monster Hunter.

    • HistorysGreatestMonster

      I think it all comes down to arrogance. Sony were very arrogant during the launch of the PS3 and it hurt them. Nintendo got pretty arrogant for a while and now we see the results of that. Microsoft is also showing that very same arrogance with Kinect. 

      Success often brings out the worst in both people and companies. 

      • fanoultimate

        So, in only one word: Karma

      • http://twitter.com/Megawarrior345 Elle

        Nintendo hasn’t been arrogant for a while, they’ve always been. Just not as much as Sony. The same thing that happened to Sony is happening to Nintendo (and I hope they do so it’ll force them to try harder and not just release something and expect people eat it up like Sony and the PS3 launch)

  • PrinceHeir

    Onechanbara Z Kagura!!!!!!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Jordan-White/100000598242336 Jordan White

    Please take this with a grain of salt but I hear that the next generation X-Box will be called the X-Box Fusion in the West and “Microsoft’s Fusion” in Japan and East Asian countries. One of the reasons they went into that name was to give it a non-numbed name for the East because they know now the X-Box brand is toxic in the Japanese/East Asian market.

  • Xeahnort

    I think they’re losing steam. I mean, they started with big titles such as Blue Dragon, Lost odyssey, Eternal Sonata, Etc..  5 years later, Rpg-san packed his belonging and moved to Sony village.

    • http://twitter.com/Megawarrior345 Elle

      They lost steam after they were released…..oh and Sony releasing better/complete versions of some of them a year and half later.

  • Bunzi

    What game is that screenshot with the dragon from?

    • mikanko

      Project Draco.  The Kinect game headed up by the former Panzer Dragoon think tank.  Also the only thing that has any chance of selling me a Kinect.

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