Even a new pad couldn't help
In the aftermath of what was considered a pretty successful Tokyo Game Show for Microsoft, some of Japan’s leading developers have expressed doubts about the console’s chances of success in Japan.
“I won’t say that Microsoft has no chance of succeeding in Japan,” says Capcom vice-president Yoshiki Okamoto. “It has a slight chance, but it is a very tiny opportunity.”
This comment comes from a man who, just a few months ago, was seen pledging full support to the console at Microsoft’s live link-up launch party. What has happened to change his mind? Capcom has confirmed that it has several Xbox projects in development at the moment, so this does seem a little strange.
Keiji Honda from Dragon Quest RPG giants Enix Corporation mirrors these fears. “I have two concerns about Xbox. My first concern is that it is being designed and marketed by Microsoft, and my second concern is that it will be compatible with Windows.”
Enix is massive in Japan, with its Dragon Quest VII selling more copies than Square’s Final Fantasy IX, and winning more awards.
“Most of the developers for Xbox are PC game publishers,” Honda continues. “I believe that PC games and console games should be different, and I don’t know if Japanese gamers will be interested in playing PC games on a console.”
This reaffirms the strong belief that PC and console gaming should be kept well apart, something that the Japanese have thrown in the Xbox’s face since its unveiling. Microsoft has time and time again tried to explain that, although the underlying technology of the Xbox will be that of a high-end PC, the functionality and operational ergonomics of it will be very much console.
Metal Gear creator and comically serious Konami frontman Hideo Kojima said, “You will definitely get better graphics with Xbox.” The team has Metal Gear X in production at the moment.
“With PlayStation 2, we had to create our own shadows with the software. With Xbox, the machine creates it for us, so we can use that little extra power for effects and stuff. So the Xbox version will probably look a little bit better.”
This doesn’t sound too bad at the outset. But he goes on. “I don’t think that Xbox is that much better than PlayStation 2. Other than little improvements in graphics, I don’t expect much difference.”
Why Kojima would want to put the dampers on his own project is hard to understand.
It also demonstrates the fundamental dislike for the Xbox held by so many Japanese. The Xbox, with its ample hard drive and Ethernet enabled broadband capabilities offers so much more to Metal Gear, or any other game, than the PlayStation 2.
Nintendo head of Public Relations Yasuhiro Minagawa was also eager to put the boot in. “I just don’t know what Microsoft’s strategy is. In the beginning, they said that they would be like a personal computer company allowing licensees to pay only a fraction of their margin to Microsoft. That was the original business model.
“Later on they said that their basic business structure would be identical to that of PlayStation and that they are not intending to make the best games themselves but are asking many companies to make good games. It sounds very much like Sony.
I wonder how serious they are. Of course, they have not come to visit us to make games for them, so I do not know about their business terms,” says Minagawa, whose company is coming out with its own game console in the near future. “What I have heard is that they are simply trying to duplicate the PlayStation business model.”
Nintendo, never the most forthcoming of companies in praising its competitors, has no room to mock Microsoft’s business plan. Surely emulating the most successful business model in the console world is the correct thing to do. It is unlikely that when Microsoft was formulating its plan, Nintendo’s third and second party domineering strategy was even considered.
The Japanese just don’t seem to like the Xbox, and as yet, there hasn’t been a good reason not to.
“I won’t say that Microsoft has no chance of succeeding in Japan,” says Capcom vice-president Yoshiki Okamoto. “It has a slight chance, but it is a very tiny opportunity.”
This comment comes from a man who, just a few months ago, was seen pledging full support to the console at Microsoft’s live link-up launch party. What has happened to change his mind? Capcom has confirmed that it has several Xbox projects in development at the moment, so this does seem a little strange.
Keiji Honda from Dragon Quest RPG giants Enix Corporation mirrors these fears. “I have two concerns about Xbox. My first concern is that it is being designed and marketed by Microsoft, and my second concern is that it will be compatible with Windows.”
Enix is massive in Japan, with its Dragon Quest VII selling more copies than Square’s Final Fantasy IX, and winning more awards.
“Most of the developers for Xbox are PC game publishers,” Honda continues. “I believe that PC games and console games should be different, and I don’t know if Japanese gamers will be interested in playing PC games on a console.”
This reaffirms the strong belief that PC and console gaming should be kept well apart, something that the Japanese have thrown in the Xbox’s face since its unveiling. Microsoft has time and time again tried to explain that, although the underlying technology of the Xbox will be that of a high-end PC, the functionality and operational ergonomics of it will be very much console.
Metal Gear creator and comically serious Konami frontman Hideo Kojima said, “You will definitely get better graphics with Xbox.” The team has Metal Gear X in production at the moment.
“With PlayStation 2, we had to create our own shadows with the software. With Xbox, the machine creates it for us, so we can use that little extra power for effects and stuff. So the Xbox version will probably look a little bit better.”
This doesn’t sound too bad at the outset. But he goes on. “I don’t think that Xbox is that much better than PlayStation 2. Other than little improvements in graphics, I don’t expect much difference.”
Why Kojima would want to put the dampers on his own project is hard to understand.
It also demonstrates the fundamental dislike for the Xbox held by so many Japanese. The Xbox, with its ample hard drive and Ethernet enabled broadband capabilities offers so much more to Metal Gear, or any other game, than the PlayStation 2.
Nintendo head of Public Relations Yasuhiro Minagawa was also eager to put the boot in. “I just don’t know what Microsoft’s strategy is. In the beginning, they said that they would be like a personal computer company allowing licensees to pay only a fraction of their margin to Microsoft. That was the original business model.
“Later on they said that their basic business structure would be identical to that of PlayStation and that they are not intending to make the best games themselves but are asking many companies to make good games. It sounds very much like Sony.
I wonder how serious they are. Of course, they have not come to visit us to make games for them, so I do not know about their business terms,” says Minagawa, whose company is coming out with its own game console in the near future. “What I have heard is that they are simply trying to duplicate the PlayStation business model.”
Nintendo, never the most forthcoming of companies in praising its competitors, has no room to mock Microsoft’s business plan. Surely emulating the most successful business model in the console world is the correct thing to do. It is unlikely that when Microsoft was formulating its plan, Nintendo’s third and second party domineering strategy was even considered.
The Japanese just don’t seem to like the Xbox, and as yet, there hasn’t been a good reason not to.
Companies:
Microsoft
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