Moore: “we’re not backing down.”
Peter Moore, seen here showing off one of his fake tats (At least, I hope they’re fake) has stated in an interview with IGN that Microsoft is committed to making the Xbox 360 in Japan a success.
When asked if Microsoft needs to change their approach towards making the console a viable success in Japan, Moore stated:
I think we need to continue to be a competitor as aggressively as we have been since the day we launched [in Japan]. Little things make your day a little better. This morning when I woke up, seeing Gears of War as one of the top ten selling games in Japan, on top of Blue Dragon’s success over the holidays, is vindication of a company that understand what it needs to stick to the task. I think we are seeing progress in Japan. With Lost Odyssey still to come, I think we feel real good about our ability to compete and compete aggressively in the Japanese market. It’s not easy, let me make that clear. It’s not easy. But we’re not going to back down just because it’s not easy.
And when asked if the 360 was setting the stage for the next Xbox, or if they were going to try to win it right now, Moore told them:
No, I think we need to compete in Japan [now]. I think there’s a tremendous amount of benefits, both direct and indirect, of being a good partner. Whether it’s the sale of consoles themselves to what is a very rapid fan-following; whether it’s our ability to work very aggressively with the publishing and development companies in Japan, and I think we’re seeing the fruits of that with games like Dead Rising and Lost Planet; whether it’s [learning] about how to really structure game mechanics and our teams on the ground in Japan provides a lot of inspiration for what we do around the world. There are a myriad of different things that provide benefits for us for being a competitor in the Japanese videogame market and that’s something we’ll continue to do.
So in short, Microsoft is sticking to their guns with Japan. Which is good, because they had a huge hit not too long ago with Blue Dragon. Slowly, but surely, it seems Microsoft is “getting” what Japanese gamers like, and what their tendencies are. If you have a free minute, I suggest you read the whole interview.
Microsoft, Xbox 360, Peter Moore, Japan, interview
