Microsoft Taps Top Designer To Win Over Japan's Gamers
Microsoft Corp. said it has signed on the creator of Japan's most popular fantasy game to produce titles for its next-generation Xbox, in the company's latest bid to win fans for its game consoles in Japan, the world's second-largest videogame market.
Microsoft said Hironobu Sakaguchi, the originator of the Final Fantasy game series, has agreed to make two role-playing games exclusively for the next version of its Xbox, which is expected out later this year. Xbox Japan chief Yoshihiro Maruyama declined to say when the games would come out but said it likely would be "slightly after" the console launch. He said the games also would be aimed at the global market.
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The deal with Mr. Sakaguchi is a crucial step for Microsoft as it prepares to launch its next videogame console. Its first console, the Xbox, has been popular in the U.S. -- the world's largest videogame market -- but a failure in No. 2 market Japan, which is also the home of videogame-console rivals Sony Corp. and Nintendo Co.
Since its February 2002 introduction, the Xbox has sold 463,000 units in Japan, according to game-data tracker Enterbrain Inc. That compares with 3.7 million units of Nintendo's GameCube, which was launched five months earlier, and 17.2 million units of Sony's PlayStation 2, which came out in 2000.
Microsoft needs to sell more consoles in Japan in part to attract stronger support from Japanese game developers such as Konami Corp. and Capcom Co. These companies do a lot of their business in their home market and hesitate to make games for consoles that haven't seen at least a million units sold domestically because it isn't worth the cost of game development.
Without those Japanese games, the Xbox's offerings have been heavy on the shooting and sports games popular in the U.S. -- and light on the role-playing and fantasy genres that Japan's gamers favor. Microsoft Vice President Peter Moore said the agreement with Mr. Sakaguchi should help Microsoft build games that are more "relevant and pertinent for Japanese consumers." He acknowledged that such games were "sadly lacking" for the Xbox.
With Mr. Sakaguchi, Microsoft gains a legend in Japanese game culture. While at Japanese game maker Square Co. -- now Square Enix Co. -- Mr. Sakaguchi created Final Fantasy , one of the most popular videogame franchises in the world, and an enduring hit in Japan, where it is soon to launch its 12th iteration. Snagging the Final Fantasy franchise was seen as important in helping Sony successfully launch its first PlayStation console.
And in attracting Mr. Sakaguchi, Microsoft has shown that it is building the credibility and connections needed to do business in Japan's game world: Mr. Sakaguchi said he decided to work with Microsoft in large part because he knew and trusted many of the company's Japanese staff -- including Mr. Maruyama, who for years worked at Square.
Mr. Sakaguchi declined to disclose details of the games. Financial terms of the agreement weren't disclosed.
It has been years since Mr. Sakaguchi has had a hand in the Final Fantasy series so there is no guarantee that he can field another top-selling game.
Mr. Sakaguchi will produce the games in Japan through his Tokyo-based company, MistWalker.
微软邀请日本游戏先驱开发新一代Xbox游戏
微软(Microsoft Corp., MSFT)表示已与日本最流行的幻想游戏创始人签约，聘请其为公司新一代的Xbox产品开发游戏。这是微软为增强游戏机产品在日本市场的地位而作出的最新努力。
微软称，《最终幻想》(Final Fantasy)游戏系列的创始人Hironobu Sakaguchi已同意，专门为公司今年晚些时候上市的Xbox新品开发两款新的角色扮演游戏。Xbox日本负责人Yoshihiro Maruyama拒绝透露这两款游戏的推出时间，只是表示游戏可能在Xbox新品上市后不久即投放市场，同时游戏会面向全球市场。
与Yoshihiro Maruyama的合作是微软准备推出新一代视频游戏机的重要一步。微软的第一款游戏机Xbox在美国这一全球最大的视频游戏市场成为畅销产品，不过在规模居第二位的日本市场却遭到冷遇，受到当地索尼公司(Sony Corp., SNE, 又名:新力公司)和任天堂公司(Nintendo Co.)等竞争对手的压制。
