What you need to know
- Microsoft just showcased its Xbox presentation for the Tokyo Game Show in Japan.
- The event detailed a variety of Asian games, including heavy hitters like Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster Collection and the Legend of Mana series for Xbox.
- During the event, Xbox lead Phil Spencer revealed that Microsoft now has the largest install base in Asia that the console platform has ever had.
- Microsoft’s Xbox console continues to face stiff competition from PlayStation, thought to be outselling Xbox up to 3:1 in some markets. Although both manufacturers have seen year-over-year hardware sales declines.
Today, Microsoft held a presentation at the Tokyo Game Show, showcasing its efforts to bring greater Asia-region support to the Xbox platform.
During the Tokyo Game Show event, Microsoft detailed partnerships with companies like Square Enix and Konami, with new trailers for Metal Gear Solid 3: Delta, and the Suikoden re-releases. Square Enix also launched Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters into Xbox Play Anywhere, alongside with classic Legend of Mana and Trials of Mana games hitting Xbox Game Pass. Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D was also confirmed for Xbox, alongside a variety of other games of all shapes and sizes.
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During the event, we also got an update on how Xbox is performing in the region, which should be encouraging for fans of games from countries like Japan, China, and Korea.
Xbox chief Phil Spencer says “this year more people are playing with Xbox across all devices in Asia than ever before. We’ve seen the largest number of Xbox console players in the region to date.” pic.twitter.com/u5AuvW1BX6September 26, 2024
Sharing an update, Xbox lead Phil Spencer noted, “this year, more people are playing with Xbox across all devices in Asia than ever before. We’ve seen the largest number of Xbox console players in the region to date.”
Spencer’s comments echoes sentiments from Microsoft’s recent Xbox Game Showcase from June 2024, where Microsoft confirmed that Xbox currently has its largest ever active console install base, outstripping previous milestones. This comprises active players on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and the few remaining on Xbox 360 specifically — but it doesn’t include users playing Xbox games on cloud, PC, or other platforms like Nintendo Switch or PlayStation 5, per previous clarifications to us from Microsoft PR.
Microsoft joined Sony and Nintendo both in year-over-year hardware sales declines, however, as users become more “sticky” than previous console generations. More and more players are simply sticking with previous-gen consoles this time around, with PlayStation 4 and Xbox One enjoying an irregularly long life span due to service-type games, like Roblox, Fortnite, and Minecraft. More players are shifting across to PC as well, as more and more titles enable cross-save capabilities, allowing players to roam with their content to any device they choose. Xbox overall is up over 44%, though, owing to growth from their Activision-Blizzard acquisition.
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The fact Xbox consoles specifically continue to grow in Asia, rather than shrink, is a good sign that Microsoft is on the right path in the region. Clearly there’s a ton of hard work going towards landing games like Genshin Impact for Xbox, Yakuza, Persona from Sega, and now Final Fantasy from Square Enix. And for fans of these kinds of games, it certainly seems to be paying off.
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For Xbox in Asia, there’s still work to do
Microsoft has finally repaired relationships with Square Enix, joining companies like Sega / Atlus, and MiHoYo in bringing greater support to Xbox for fans of Asia region games. However, there’s still a lot of work to be done.
Microsoft has recently cracked down on so-called “grey markets” across regions like the Middle East and Central Asia, where users would buy imported Xbox consoles then buy games digitally from markets with regional pricing discounts like Argentina in order to play. A greater number of these purchasing avenues have been blocked by Microsoft in recent weeks, leading users in unsupported territories losing access. Microsoft could be doing a lot more to bring more official support to these regions, with greater localization efforts, while also growing data centers and local teams to promote Xbox gaming of all stripes there. If Xbox has its biggest Asian user base than ever, clearly there’s some demand, right?
For all the wins Microsoft has had in Central and South East Asia in recent years, Microsoft has also had some misses. Microsoft landed a lengthy exclusivity deal for Japanese Pokemon-alternative Palworld earlier this year, but missed out on Black Myth Wukong from China, which recently hit what could be at least a regional record 20 million copies sold in a single month for a full price single-player title.
I’m eating good as a Final Fantasy fan, finally getting Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster collection which was previously exclusively not on Xbox. There’s every reason to think Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy 7 Remake will land eventually on Xbox too (and we’ve heard they’re on the way.) We should see MiHoYo’s other games hit Xbox too, including Honkai Star Rail and Zenless Zone Zero, when their exclusivity deals with PlayStation dry up. We’re also seeing Dynasty Warriors Origins and games like Metaphor: ReFantazio hit Xbox day one, which is something that would’ve been unlikely in previous years.
But still, there’s clearly more work to do here. Perhaps an Xbox handheld would help Microsoft grow even further in the region …
