According to Nippon Ichi Software America president Takuro Yamashita, Microsoft “hasn’t been very supportive of Japanese games”. Since this is NIS America, Yamashita is talking about bringing Japanese games to the Xbox One and not selling loads of Xbox Ones in Japan.
In an interview with MCV, Yamashita said, “Honestly speaking, Microsoft’s approach to Japanese games hasn’t been very supportive. Microsoft, you know, for Japanese games, there’s still a very niche element to them, no matter what it might be.”
This is rather odd, because the Xbox 360 was a hotbed of niche Japanese games.
Continuing, Yamashita adds, “Microsoft also has a minimum order quantity for their games, and their whole structure isn’t really geared toward niche games or smaller games like Japanese titles, so they’re not really supportive of Japanese games or developers.”
NIS America releases most of its games on PlayStation platforms, but has released several of its titles on PC, including Yomawari and Disgaea 2, and two already on Switch. Next year will see The Longest Five Minutes getting a PC and Switch release.
As MCV points out, NIS America isn’t turning its back on Xbox One and the company said it will keep an eye on what consoles its fans are using.
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13 responses to “Microsoft Hasn’t Been Supportive For Japanese Games, Says NIS America”
This doesn’t make sense, there are plenty of small, niche games on XB1 especially through their ID/indie program. Sadly, with developers thinking this way, there will be less Japanese games on XB1 meaning less console sales in Japan.
I hate that all the new Koei Tecmo, Omega Force games are all now PS4/PC only, and am not in a position to own multiple consoles anymore.
Xbox ID and “Indy” are self published (to my understanding) and therefore different to publisher’s like NIS issues and restrictions put in place by the platform holder.
Indy’s get help from publisher’s depending on how one defines “Indy” these days. Bit I was under the assumption Xbox ID is self publishing
The fact he mentions Microsoft having minimum order quantities makes me think he’s probably talking more about physical retail rather than digital. Or something got lost in translation.
Either way, I don’t know if it would actually be possible for them to sell fewer consoles in Japan. They threw everything at it with the 360 and got nowhere, so I suspect they don’t really care that much about the Japanese market anymore.
The thing was MS strategy in Japan was trying to apply the short term gains that worked on Western markets. The whole “need” to get a game day 1 with timed exclusives.
And it worked for a while. Idol Master was literally printing money for MS and Vesperia did get people to buy 360’s who would have never bothered with it. The problem was the assumption from MS that once a console was sold they didn’t worry about brand loyalty or keeping momentum and assumed well they have the console now so they will eventually buy *other* games.
And then 2-3 years later the folks who bought in get the shock of a lifetime when their “exclusives” end up on the other console they already have (ie. Sony) AND in a completed version… what would you think happens in a market that values loyalty?
End of the day though MS is basically treating Jp as just being there these days for chump change… MS has clearly gone all in for NA markets as even EU barely gets a mention
This is what turns me off Xbox one as a console. Total lack of quirky Japanese games, JRPGS, rhythm games, 2d fighters.
I can play all the sports games, western shooters and the assassins creeds of the world on PS4, not that I would.
But you can’t change your GODDAMN USERNAME!!!
Obligatory rant over. Sorry about that. 😛
Or you could also wait when the timed exclusive finishes *cough*Dead Rising 4*cough* *cough*Tales of Vesperia*cough* and get the Full Version on PS4 anyway…
I thank crap XB1 actually has a *real* exclusive that’s not an in house developed game in Cup Head. But even then any XB1 game you can also grab for PC.
It’s too much short term gain stuff when it comes to XB1 unfortunately. Try and grab people with timed “exclusives” and watch people just taper off because if someone already has a PS4 why bother with day 1 when you can just wait for the “GoTY” edition on PS4 later?
Well this doesn’t sound like marketing at all!!
For all their efforts to stifle foreign competition, they were actually trying to help and foster them, it’s all so clear now!!
I find a lot of Japanese games with the exception of some of the mega franchises to be lazily developed and borderline bad/boring.
I love poking my nose into different physical retail/online stores to see what kind of Japanese weirdness hasn’t been heavily-advertised or reviewed on the PS4. And there’s plenty there, with intriguing or alluring anime-style art on the cover!
But when I play it or – increasingly more commonly now, as a result – watch a ‘let’s play,’ it turns out you’re right. Shitty samey JRPGs with no compelling hook/differentiating factor, poorly made, or a bunch of VNs. Turns out there’s a reason they’re not being heavily advertised or reviewed.
Still, I keep looking, just in case I stumble across the next Vagrant Story or Resonance of Fate.
Yea I pretty much gave up. And anything BamCo (outside of Dynasty Warriors/DW Gundam >.>) I avoid with a 90ft pole.
NIS America hasn’t been supportive for PC gamers with their unplayable buggy crashy and glitchy ports they foist on the Steam Store and GOG. Ys VIII was a total ClusterF*** and still crashes every 2 seconds after it’s release was delayed months with Quality Control being the excuse for the delay. It released as a hot goopy mess and it still is, and of course, NISA wants $60.00USD for it and pushed out a slew of DLC on day 1.
Disgaea 5 is shaping up to be the same debacle. NISA announced another indefinite delay claiming Quality Control for the reason (Now where have we all heard that one before?), and I expect that to release as a broken, crashy, glitchy unplayable mess with a high price tag and a barrage of day 1 DLC. Ys VII hasn’t received a patch since the Disgaea 5 delay was announced and is likely abandoned with it’s worst bugs Crashing, Internal resolution rendering problems are still there with a few other bugs.
It clearly looks like NISA just doesn’t care, won’t try to fix this epic blunder, and have moved on to their next blunderous cash grab with “Disgaea 5: Super Crashy Unplayable PC Edition”, which will hit the stores in mid-late 2019 with “Overwhelmingly Negative” reception on Steam. NISA will then release daily patches not addressing the worst issues, and then abandon it for their next cash grab from the PC gaming community.