I very much doubt we are getting anything exclusive from Japan, maybe that Kojima game. But definitely no acquisitions lol.
Best we can hope for in Japan in port parity and late ports as of now sadly. Would love if Tango was working on something JRPG wise. MS would own a JRPG studio

I’d like to see MS announce that they’re buying Square Enix and shutting them down. 11/10 show

On a more serious note tho, MS has plenty of games announced, so really I just wanna see these games in action and a proper roadmap for when I can expect to play them. If they can sprinkle in a couple of cool surprises, that don’t get leaked beforehand, that’s really all I want.

Hell, if they just give me a proper look at Fable and call it a day I’ll honestly be super excited.

What am I hoping to see?

- I want to see this “1 game per quarter” release schedule (this gens “power of the cloud”)

- I want to see this “mathematically impossible not to start releasing games” release schedule

- I wanna see factual proof that this isn’t just another “wait till next year” year for Xbox

- I want to see an actual release date for Starfield that isn’t another delay.

- Fuck off with your CGI bullshit of games releasing in the next few years, I want to see actual gameplay of actual games releasing in the next year/year and half. I have as much confidence in MS as I did during the last generation when I washed my hands of Xbox, GP was the only thing that brought me back. I want, need to see some actual confidence restored. It’s been 923 days since the Series released it’s time to start delivering already. Last chance.

Unless they were to shockingly shadow drop something like Avowed, and it turns out to be the perfect combination of Fallout: New Vegas and Dragon Age Origins with Pillars of Eternity lore, there's nothing that will immediately change my feelings on Xbox.

And to their credit, even though Hi-Fi Rush isn't quite at that level (and doesn't even have a physical release), it was a great surprise and built some goodwill to start the year, before they destroyed it all with Redfall...

The problem with Xbox right now isn't their shows, it's their game output, plain and simple. Gamers in general are just tired of the optimistic shows followed by the misery of real-world results. Until they deliver the games, there's going to be a growing indifference regardless of how well they try to sell their vision.

Bonus: Gameplay, on a playable Series X build.

Maybe I've missed some things but I decided to compare Game Pass for Japanese releases from 2023 - 2020 (because that is as far as I could be bothered to go) from the same period in time (January - May) because it feels unfair to include past June since a lot of things will be announced at E3/TGS as per usual and release soon after those events.

So here is from what I managed to find, how Game Pass in 2023 stacks up versus other years, dates aligned. Again, I could have missed some things because it's a bit of a bitch to search through every Xbox Wire post and then check a bunch of developers locations, especially for some indie developers who barely list their location but here is my attempt at rounding it up.

_________

Japanese Game Pass: 2020

January

• Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet - Dimps/Bandai Namco

February

• Final Fantasy XV - Square Enix
• Kingdom Hearts III - Square Enix
• Yakuza 0 - Sega

April

• NieR: Automata Become as Gods Edition - Square Enix
• Alvastia Chronicles - Exe Create

May

• Final Fantasy IX - Square Enix

Total = 7

_________

Japanese Game Pass: 2021

January

• Yakuza 3 - Sega
• Yakuza 4 - Sega
• Yakuza 5 - Sega

February

• Code Vein - Bandai Namco
• Final Fantasy XII The Zodiac Age - Square Enix

March

• Nier: Automata - Platinum Games/Square Enix
• Octopath Traveler - Square Enix
• Yakuza 6 - Sega

May

• Dragon Quest Builders 2 - Square Enix
• Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster - Square Enix

Total = 10

_________

Japanese Game Pass: 2022

January

• Olija - Skeleton Crew Studio
• Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc Anniversary Edition - Spike Chunsoft
• Taiko no Tatsujin: The Drum Master - Bandai Namco

March

• Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII - Square Enix
• Zero Escape: The Nonary Games - Spike Chunsoft

April

• Research and Destroy - Implausible Industries/Spike Chunsoft

May

• Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair Anniversary Edition - Spike Chunsoft
• Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising - Rabbit & Bear Studio

Total = 8

_________

Japanese Game Pass: 2023

January

• Monster Hunter Rise - Capcom
• Persona 3 - Atlus/Sega
• Persona 4 - Atlus/Sega
• Hi Fi Rush - Tango Gameworks
• JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure All Star Battle R - CyberConnect2

February

• SD Gundam Battle Alliance - Artdink/Alvion
• Soul Hackers 2 - Atlus/Sega
• Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty - Team Ninja/Koei Tecmo

March

• Guilty Gear Strive - Arc System Works
• Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom - Level 5

April

• Ghostwire: Tokyo - Tango Gameworks
• BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle - Arc System Works

May

• Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2 - CyberConnect2

Total = 13

_________

They're doing great Imo, especially considering they lost Square Enix in almost its entirety, and Sega has clearly decided to do the smart thing of releasing an IP for the first time on Xbox via Game Pass to build a fanbase then release the follow-up entries as purchase only, to maybe when the title gets older and less purchased to shove it onto Game Pass.

Stats

• 2020 - 4 Publishers
• 2021 - 3 Publishers
• 2022 - 5 Publishers
• 2023 - 7 Publishers

Feels to me like 2023 has more variety as well.

Obviously there is more work to be done, goes without saying, there will always be Japanese developers to bring over to Xbox...Just the same as in the West...But there's been quite a few "first time ever" on Xbox for Japanese IPs lately or "returning after years of absent" and I really think Square Enix's absence is blowing the issue more out of proportion than it actually is.

Isn't Tango Xbox's 1st ever Japanese developer? An exclusive with Kojima is a huge deal even if some of us aren't a fan either, Lol. He's a huge deal in both Japan and the West and his positive comments about Xbox could help things. For the first time since the Xbox 360 era, Xbox Game Studios Publishing has Producers specifically for Japan as well so there are no doubt more exclusives coming.

Y'all can chill with this too.

Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater Remake Isn't a PlayStation Exclusive - Insider Gaming

I find the Square Enix hate to be a bit laughably exaggerated. Compared to XGS, they've quietly released several hidden gems over the last year or so. All of them with physical releases and smart delivery too. And even threw a bone with a same-day release of the Crisis Core remaster, which was both designed and optimised well across all systems.

This thread will bend over backwards to find any nuggets of reason for why Redfall isn't a complete waste of time. Well using that logic, look past the scores of games like DioField Chronicles and Star Ocean: The Divine Force and actually read the reviews and player feedback for them.

Even something like Stranger of Paradise had wildly mixed reviews, with a lot of people really selling the game as much more fun than expected. Worth trying, especially when every version should easily be findable in your nearest bargain bin right now.


If they were to announce Final Fantasy VII Remake finally making it's way over, how would this thread even react? Just grumble that it's 2 years later than PS5 and 3 years later than PS4? Meanwhile continue to have endless patience and tolerance for XGS for a second straight gen.

It helps to complain about Japanese games on Xbox if you don’t play the Japanese games that do release heh ;)

This. Doesn't matter how many games they show, it's how they show them. They have more than enough announced titles to keep me excited for the future, now I need to see some of them in detail and know when I'll get to play these titles. Few surprises will be nice too. Fable alone would make me jump for joy but if Avowed and Starfield both look great then I'll already start off on a high as a huge WRPG fan, sprinkled with the extra goodies and I'm happy.

MGS3 is one of my favourite games, but I wasn't going to overreact one way or the other after the details we've heard about the KotOR remake.

Anyone complaining about lack of Japanese games on Xbox and yet to play Tales of Arise needs therapy, for real.