Gamespot - Xbox Japan interviews Okamoto. He talks about Japan and the Xbox 360

[schild]

"[Final Fantasy creator Hironobu] Sakaguchi-san, [Space Channel 5 creator Tetsuya] Mizuguchi-san, and myself have been the focus of attention so far. But I've been hearing that some other designers will also be joining [in making games for the next Xbox]. There are a lot of surprises. I find myself saying: 'What, this development studio!? This game!? These people!?'."

"If the current line-up [of games] in development for the next-generation Xbox was revealed," Okamoto said in the interview, "it would not only surprise users, but the entire industry. There probably wouldn't be anyone [in Japan] that would still be uninterested in buying the next-generation Xbox when they see the line-up." He called the still-under-wraps list "a powerful fleet of Japanese designers."

Okamoto revealed that he is currently making a number of games for the next Xbox, all in genres that are new to him. He added the games are already in playable form.

When asked if there was a negative side to working with Microsoft Game Studios, Okamoto commented, "We can't port the games to other hardware even if it seems possible, so that's a disappointment. But even with that downside to income, Xbox has specs that make us want to develop for it." Then, as a final tease, Okamoto said, "I can't reveal the specifics, but one of the games we're making will really go to the extreme."

I translated the original interview to English but it made my skin crawl. We can't have that. I don't know how much money Microsoft is paying this "fleet" of designers, but it's obviously a LOT.

[Fabricated]

The Japanese still aren't going to buy the next Xbox.

[HaemishM]

They will if it's the only thing they can get some of the cult-type games on. Which is what it sounds like, that they bought these developers for exclusivity. Just think how ape-shit the Japanese would go if the next Final Fantasy wankfest was an X-Box Next exclusive. I'd shit my pants laughing as half the island of Japan screams "BANZAI!!!!!" in unison.

[Fabricated]

They will if it's the only thing they can get some of the cult-type games on.

Doubtful.

Which is what it sounds like, that they bought these developers for exclusivity. Just think how ape-shit the Japanese would go if the next Final Fantasy wankfest was an X-Box Next exclusive. I'd shit my pants laughing as half the island of Japan screams "BANZAI!!!!!" in unison.

Final Fantasy is still firmly in the hands of SquareEnix.

[Big Gulp]

Everybody has some fucked up idea that the Japanese don't buy the XBox because of xenophobic racism, and it just ain't so.  Not to say that the Japanese aren't xenophobic and racist, because in a lot of ways they are, but not in this instance.  For the most part they're about as reluctant to buy American products as we are to buy Japanese; not very.

The problem's always been that the Japanese like different types of games than we do, and they've got Sony and Nintendo to itch that scratch.  You start putting out games that they want exclusive to the Xbox and they'll be snatching them up.

[Fabricated]

Everybody has some fucked up idea that the Japanese don't buy the XBox because of xenophobic racism, and it just ain't so.  Not to say that the Japanese aren't xenophobic and racist, because in a lot of ways they are, but not in this instance.  For the most part they're about as reluctant to buy American products as we are to buy Japanese; not very.

The problem's always been that the Japanese like different types of games than we do, and they've got Sony and Nintendo to itch that scratch.  You start putting out games that they want exclusive to the Xbox and they'll be snatching them up.

The Xbox's size was a factor in its poor performance there as well. Seriously.

[schild]

The Xbox's size was a factor in its poor performance there as well. Seriously.

I'm pretty sure everyone saw that article. If not, here's a recap.

Japanese people, particularly teenagers (kids in Japan live with their parents a lot longer than us yanks), don't have much space for anything. It's one of the reasons LCDs and other thin format TVs are so huge there. To compensate for this, Sony designed the Slim PS2. Nintendo designed a perfectly cube shaped system that could be stacked against other shit.

Microsoft designed a huge brick.

Anyway, it was just too big and Fabricated wasn't being a wiseass.

[Strazos]

That still sounds like a poor excuse to me.

[schild]

That still sounds like a poor excuse to me.

That's ok. You're not Japanese and obviously live in a 350,000 square foot studio apartment. There's no way you could understand how much space an Xbox could take up. And that's fine. I don't understand either. I was just explaining what was one of the most common complaints about the system from the Japanese. Because, really, the Xbox is like a Hummer H2 in a parking lot full of Miatas.

[Strazos]

There's Always space, if you're inclined to find it. While I can appreciate that they may have limited space, I would have to see for myself that they Literally have nowhere to put the thing.

[schild]

From what I understand, they actually have to open up a rift in space to leave their house. They travel to school via a series of interconnected black holes on the sides of buildings. Some, not all of the people, have the ability to walk through walls, it makes things easier.

Dude, Japan has no living space. Particularly in the cities. Imagine the most inhospitable city in America. Now multiply it by 100.

[Fabricated]

There's Always space, if you're inclined to find it. While I can appreciate that they may have limited space, I would have to see for myself that they Literally have nowhere to put the thing.

You have no clue how small a cheap Japanese apartment is.

[Jain Zar]

Hey, better Microsoft than Electronic Arts!

[SirBruce]

According to this page on Japanese apartments, the small ones are 16 - 20 square meters and the large ones are 40 - 60 square meters.  That's between 172 and 646 square feet, just to give you an idea.

Bruce

[HaemishM]

Fuck, that's a coffin. I knew they were small, but holy shit. Talk about stacking bodies like cordwood. In an apartment that small, I can see can openers being a fucking space waster.

Also, just to toss in some Japanese-bashing, aren't their tiny little hands undersized for such monstrously large controllers as the original X-Box controllers? 

I KID, I KID!

Seriously, there are a lot of design things about the X-Box that are very, very "American." It's a fucking gaz-guzzling Crown Victoria to the PS2's fuel efficient Honda Civic. The games were also very Western-centric, up until recently. There's a ton of other reasons X-Box didn't do well in Japan as compared to Sony or Nintendo. Knowing all of those, I can see the new X-Box being better suited through experience to make a splash.

[Strazos]

I'd still like to see it for myself.

Maybe if they got rid of all their tentacle incestuous rape pr0n they could fit an Xbox. I mean, yeah, the xbox is the biggest console ever, but not by a whole lot. It is a bit bigger than a first-gen PS2 or a Sega Genesis, or a decent stack of magazine. Until I see this for myself (which I am betting is never), I'm not buying it.

The stock xbox controls are horribly oversized though. I after using the wing (or whatever it's called, the smaller stock controller), I cannot function on the larger ones.

[Margalis]

Yes, the box was too big and the controllers were too big. And in Japan nobody gives a shit about console FPS games either. So there goes your "killer app."

The box being too big is NOT just some stupid thing, I was in Japan a couple weeks ago. In a place like Tokyo you don't want a big fucking XBox. My friend who lives there has a cool combination washer and dryer because they don't have room for a separate washer and dryer.

It was not designed with the Japanese in mind at all. The size, the aesthetics, the games.

I would also point out that the guy they got from Square, while a huge name, has basically fallen out of favor in Japan. They are clearly trying though. Should be interesting.

[schild]

They got the guy who made Lumines. If I could spell his name from memory I would - I think it's Mizoguchi. Or something. Anyway. Yes, it will be very interesting. It's not like any of us are going to make a point not to buy the system anyway whatwith every single game being live-enabled and a possible sequel to Ninja Gaiden.

[Strazos]

I may not buy it if it doesn't have backwards compatibility. By the time it comes out, I'll probably (Hopefully?) be in a graduate program...Priorities, and all that.

[schild]

I simply don't have enough games for my xbox to require backwards compatibility.

[Murgos]

The wierd thing about Japanese space issues is that it's not like they don't have room to expand around thier cities.  I lived in Japan for nearly a year and there was LOTS of undeveloped land, cities there end much more abruptly than they do in America.  It's almost certainly a result of living on an island, sure it's a fairly large island but always in the back of your mind has got to be the knowledge that you are going to be short of space really soon now so you better cram as much as you can into what you got.

[Margalis]

What part of Japan were you in? Certainly not Tokyo.