Even after Microsoft rocked the game industry by announcing their plans to acquire Zenimax Media, it’s been pretty clear that they are still shopping around—it is no secret that Microsoft has been interested in acquiring more studios, in particular one from Japan. And it just so happens that in a report by Bloomberg yesterday, several Japanese game developers, asking to remain anonymous, have said that Microsoft approached them regarding a potential acquisition.
On top of that, there’s evidence Microsoft is seeking to make acquisitions in the country, though it hasn’t yet landed a deal with a big name there. Several Japan-based game developers, from small to big, said it had approached them about buying their businesses. They asked not to be identified as the talks were private, and declined to give details on how the discussions went.
Takashi Mochizuki via Bloomberg.com
Besides studio acquisitions, another important point of interest is that Microsoft is working to have more games release on Xbox consoles. And so long as Microsoft continues to show interest in Japan, companies such as the likes of Koei Tecmo Games Co. will consider releasing more games for Xbox consoles.
This is great news all around. Microsoft has often left countries it does not focus on (particularly those that are not anglocentric) in the dust, with very little support to offer—Xbox fans in those regions are left to figure out things for themselves, including building fan lists to help other fans figure out what games have their supported languages. So it should not come as a surprise when a decent-sized list of games skip out on the Xbox platform.
But the news of Microsoft working to get games brought to the platform is a great one, and a studio acquisition within the country should help ensure that the company finds ground within the Asian market. Not only to reward the patient fans of Xbox that have been thrown to the wayside for years, but to introduce Xbox players to games that would otherwise not come to Xbox consoles and hopefully incentivize more developers to come to the platform.
