Phil Spencer tells Famitsu that Microsoft plans to work with more Japanese developers

The Xbox One has been selling like hotcakes in North America for the past three months, thanks to the Xbox One S. However, that isn’t the case globally. While the United States might be a success story, Microsoft’s had trouble beating both Sony and Nintendo in Japan- partially because it’s their home turf. It’s an issue that’s persisted since the original Xbox launched in the country back in 2002, but Phil Spencer thinks that can change.

Spencer recently spoke with Famitsu, one of the biggest Japanese gaming magazines, and their interview provides an interesting look at Microsoft’s strategy for the country. When asked about when the Xbox One S would release in Japan, Spencer said that while it’ll be out before the end of the year, Microsoft’s currently working to make that launch a success.

We’ve also had a lot of feedback from Japanese developers with varying comments which will help us when it comes to releasing it in Japan, and what kind of games fans would like to see developed for the system in the future.

Microsoft did something similar back during the Xbox 360 era to try and do better in the Japanese market, which resulted in titles like Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey being created. Spencer also said that Japanese gamers simply prefer games like Persona 5 and Nioh to some of the Xbox One’s current offerings, and that Microsoft would keep trying to release games the average Japanese gamer would enjoy.

The interview goes on to talk about Microsoft’s recent cooperation with Japanese developers for titles like ReCore and Scalebound, and it seems that it’s working well.

We plan to talk with many other developers in order to bring more games to the Japanese market, we were happy to announce Final Fantasy XV on the Xbox One which made me extremely happy and as mentioned we plan on a lot more connections.

There’s a lot of potential to come from Microsoft’s partnerships. If you’d like to read Famitsu’s full interview with Phil Spencer, you can find the translated copy over on Play-Asia.

Are you excited to see more Japanese games on the Xbox One? Let us know in the comments below!