PlatinumGames says it probably wouldn’t be interested in Xbox acquisition

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Reports have actually been distributing that Microsoft has actually been aiming to acquire PlatinumGames, however the game developer has actually now spoken out that a buy-out from Microsoft wouldn’t be of interest to them, which they have not even got a deal at all.

Phil Spencer, the head of the Xbox brand name, has actually mentioned several times that he wishes to add a Japanese developer to Xbox’s first-party studios, so that the company can create content much better curated towards a Japanese audience. PlatinumGames would be just the kind of studio Spencer is looking for, possibly triggering the reports to start distributing.

https://www.youtube com/watch? v= oScAccxZzEc

Nevertheless, Atsushi Inaba, the head manufacturer of PlatinumGames, has actually stated that offering the studio at the phase would be the opposite of what they are attempting to achieve today with taking steps into self-publishing. “I did read some rumors about Xbox wanting to purchase PlatinumGames, and I thought, ‘people on the internet write the craziest stuff,’ because that conversation has not come to our doorstep at all,” Inaba stated.

He then went on to describe that the company is working hard to give themselves more liberty in what they do and the games they create, and coming under the umbrella of Xbox, in which they would working under their direction, would be counter-intuitive.

Xbox consoles have actually usually had a hard time in Japan, generally falling under the lowest-selling games hardware in the region. IDC, a market research company, has actually stated that Xbox One has made just 0.3% of its global sales in Japan. Famitsu reported that for 2018, Xbox One offered just 15,339 in Japan for the whole year, compared to 1.7 million for the PlayStation 4 and 3.5 million for the Nintendo Switch.

Hideo Kamiya, the designer of PlatinumGames’ Bayonetta, has actually stated that Xbox has failed to market their consoles towards Japanese players’ tastes, which the console has actually constantly felt foreign and like it wasn’t tailored towards the Japanese audience.

Inaba added his own thoughts to that concept: “I agree with the foreign feeling nature of the hardware, but I also admire that Phil wants to try hard in Japan. I would love to give him some advice, but I also feel that the success route into Japan has not always been about having the best hardware..”

If Spencer and Xbox want to start making a larger splash in Japan, it looks like they’ll need to look somewhere else from PlatinumGames, and perhaps need to believe in a different way than just obtaining a Japanesestudio They may need to focus on the hardware itself and how they market it to the Japanese players. Regardless, it won’ t be simple to match Sony or Nintendo, who are based in Japan.

We are sure Phil Spencer is intending to see more consoles offered in Japan when the Xbox Series X introduces this holiday.

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