Xbox has a checkered history in Japan, but the situation may be improving. There are reports the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are already outselling the Xbox One line in the region, despite being available only for a year, right in the midst of a chip shortage. Microsoft has also landed support from staple franchises like Yakuza and Dragon Quest, which have historically skipped the Anglo-centric platform.
Microsoft is gradually ramping up in the region, acquiring its first Japan-based studio with Tango Gameworks. Microsoft will also make an appearance at the Tokyo Game Show, taking place on October 3, 2021.
The official TGS website seems to suggest that Xbox will have exclusive announcements to make during the show, roughly translated to read "there will be announcements that can only be heard here!" The text on the English site, however, was altered to remove references to any form of "exclusive" announcement. The sentiment was reiterated by Xbox marketing general manager Aaron Greenberg, who told Xbox fans to temper their expectations.
Well since you asked, @tokyo_game_show is a show for our players in Japan and across Asia. Expect regionally relevant updates, but no major reveals or announcements as our game teams are focused on continuing to ship big releases across October, November, and December. 😁Well since you asked, @tokyo_game_show is a show for our players in Japan and across Asia. Expect regionally relevant updates, but no major reveals or announcements as our game teams are focused on continuing to ship big releases across October, November, and December. 😁— Aaron "Day One On Game Pass" Greenberg 🙅🏼♂️💚U (@aarongreenberg) September 1, 2021September 1, 2021
Greenberg says there will be no major reveals or announcements, as the core Xbox team focuses on the big Q3/4 games line up, including games like Age of Empires IV, Halo Infinite, and Forza Horizon 5..
I expect that TGS will basically revolve around announcements core Xbox fans already know. Microsoft will most likely talk about Xbox Game Pass, Xbox cloud gaming, showcase games that we already know about, and so on. It will just be packaged and presented for an audience that is generally unaware of Xbox, and may even be Xbox-skeptical. There may be some promising Japanese indie games revealed, however. There may also be an appearance from a large publisher to push the idea that Xbox is getting support from Japanese devs in the region, although I'm not sure we'll see anything majorly new from them.
If you were hoping this would be the event where Persona was revealed for Xbox (like me), you may be disappointed, sadly. Other exhibitors will be present at the show, including updates from Capcom and Konami, and a 50-minute stream from Square Enix.
