Microsoft seeking acquisition of Japanese studios. "Japan market no longer important to Sony."

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Xbone has less than 1% marketshare in Japan. Microsoft are wasting their time. They should be worried about being competitive in America again after PS4 outsold Xbone here almost every month for 7 years.

Which law? ZeniMax bought Tango Gameworks.

I've been saying for a long time how disappointing it is that Sony gives Japanese studios almost no support anymore. It's a deciding factor in me leaving PlayStation. Their western stuff mostly bores me.

The larger Sony Corporation has always been based in Tokyo. However, their subsidiary Sony Interactive Entertainment (PlayStation) moved their main headquarters from Tokyo to California.

...Just over six months after Tango Gameworks was founded. Foreign companies can purchase newer, smaller Japanese studios. But they can't purchase older, bigger Japanese studios.

True, but isn't it just those healthy operating big old companies don't bother to accept an acquisition rather than being hindered by regulation? I mean giant foreign companies occasionally buy and sell major Japanese companies but these are too big for anyone to care.

Sony focusing on the west is pretty sad. They've gone downhill in quality and just general fun since catering to people who are dumber and worse at games.

Sony probably annoyed the Japanese keep making attractive characters, so they dumped the country.

Meh... Rather Xbox get more mainland European devs as those are what the Xbox needs. Xbox actually has a fighting chance in mainland Europe. Rather them get a Polish devs based off the rumors we been hearing. MS needs to face facts that the Xbox will never be popular in Japan and they will just keep wasting money. Heck does the Xbox demographic even play Japanese games like that?

Meanwhile European and American gamers taste at least align with each other. Many American/Xbox gamers LOVED Witcher. Now how many American/Xbox gamers liked Persona?

Also I dont want MS buying big Japanese publishers like Capcom or Square Enix and hope they don't. They should be multiplat.

Just buy Konami and enable PT on all Xbox consoles.

Easy win there.

Sega, would be the only one that makes sense to me. Many of their games can be popular in both the east and west. :P

Such as?

@ezekiel43: Sales kinda dictate these sorts of things, blame the people not buying Japanese games.

I think the law is about publicly listed companies but I'm not sure what but I did read about restrictions on outright buyout of Japanese companies.

As for Tango Gameworks, I always thought Bethesda established it not bought it.

@vfighter: Japanese games have generally been selling very well this gen. But just not games from Sony's own first-party Japanese studios, with the exception of GT.

@pc_rocks: You could be right. Tango was a private company, not a public company. So private companies could be purchased by foreign companies, but not public companies. Or at least any of the major public companies.

Key words...home base lol

That's Japan. They've always had a branch in the US but their "home base" is Japan. It's not hard to understand. Making it sound like the just up and moved and made the US their home is like saying their home is also in the UK because guess what...they have a corporate building there too as well as in other countries lol

But once again (for those that didn't hear it in the back) their home base is Tokyo, Japan. Knowing that, why would anyone in their right mind assume that they've given up on their own territory?

Now THAT'S ludicrous

Anyone but platinum games.

lol, well MS already tarnished that relationship.

Would be hilarious if they bought SE.

What a load of rubbish is this? Speak for yourself. I am an "Xbox" fan too and I love JPN games and I and many more people want more JPN games on Xbox. JPN studios make great games. Also you can do both. PS4 had a mix of both. Compare the amount of JRPG's 360 had to Xbox One. Its embarrassing.

MS had a poor lineup of exclusives this gen. They need more games period and JPN games would be great. The fact that Yakuza is coming out on launch for Xbox is great news*yes its not exclusive but a game like this would have never come out for Xbox one 7 years ago)

Jrpgs are lame, let them die.

Jrpgs are lame, let them die.

To you, but by having games in every single genre, you bring in more people to your ecosystem and thus make more money. I for one hate fps as they bore me, but i'm not against them being on Xbox.

Again, you're confusing Sony Interactive Entertainment (PlayStation) with Sony Corporation (the owner of SIE).

Sony Interactive Entertainment (PlayStation) relocated its main headquarters from Tokyo to California in 2016:

Sony Interactive Entertainment

Company Profile

The head office of SIE (not Sony Corp) is now in California, not Tokyo. The Tokyo office is now subordinate to the California HQ, which is the head office that tells the Tokyo office what to do.

This is why, for example, the Sony censorship controversy is such a big deal in Japan. Because the censorship is coming from the California HQ, which is bossing around the Tokyo office and forcing them to enforce censorship in Japan. SIE's new California HQ clearly doesn't consider Japan to be such a vital market.

M$ needs to grab them boys thats working on Black Myth / that would be a good one to start with!!

Yeah, MS. I'm sure the Japanese audience would LOVE if you did that. /sarcasm

You guys do as well down in Japan as Nintendo does in China. ie: NOT AT ALL!