Xbox suggests more original Japanese games are coming
A senior Microsoft gaming exec has suggested that original Japanese titles are in the works for Xbox.
Sarah Bond, who is Microsoft’s corporate VP of gaming ecosystem at Xbox, was asked during an IGN Japan live stream on Saturday if Xbox owners should expect original Japanese Xbox-published titles in the future, similar to Xbox 360’s Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey.
“Completely,” Bond replied. “One of the things that I’m super excited about is that we have over 250 developers in Japan developing games for Xbox right now. 150 have already shipped, 100 of them are in Game Pass and we [recently] got to announce 15 titles made in Asia and 13 in Japan.
“So much has come, but there’s even more that’s going to come in the future and I can’t wait to reveal it to you all as it starts coming out.”
Blue Dragon (2006) and Lost Odyssey (2007) were two-Xbox exclusive RPGs created by Mistwalker and Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi.
Microsoft has made renewed efforts in Japan with Series X|S. The consoles launched day-and-date with other territories and Phil Spencer committed early on to better cater to Japanese players this console generation.
While still performing behind PlayStation 5, Xbox consoles have enjoyed better than expected sales in Japan in recent months, with Xbox Series X/S having outsold Sony’s console twice on a weekly basis, in mid-May and again in June.
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Microsoft’s head of gaming was asked about Xbox’s relationship with Japanese gamers in a separate interview with Famitsu on Saturday.
“I have a lot of acquaintances and friends who make games in Japan,” he said. “Many of them we’ve known for a long time, and we’ve been asking,
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