It’s essential that Microsoft continues to improve their catalogue of titles with games that Japan would appreciate playing. The first objective that Microsoft should concentrate on is bringing forth sequels to Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon. Both RPGs were received well in Japan and would assist in bringing attention to the console. Next up, it’s time for Microsoft to let the cat out of the bag with Ninety-Nine Nights II as not enough has been revealed about the title. Concerning our third intellectual property on the list, Microsoft should only provide a small portion of their conference to the Halo anime – it’s not exactly going to sell any consoles. After the Halo anime is detailed, Microsoft should announce the availability of a demo for Forza Motorsport 3 and then move onto new partnerships and exclusivity deals with development studios. The first on the slate would be Phantom Brave II. The original Phantom Brave was developed by Nippon Ichi Software (NIS) and was received (81 percent on Metacritic.com) particularly well by press and the rabid NIS fanbase. If Microsoft could secure full-on exclusivity, it would be a small victory for Microsoft as RPGs are still valued by a lot of gamers.
Secondly, the Shin Megami Tensei series is well-liked by RPG enthusiasts, so exclusively adding Persona 5 to Microsoft’s line-up would be impressive due to that it’s currently rumored to be showing up on the PlayStation 3. It’s unlikely to happen, but for a perfect TGS, adding Persona 5 would be icing on the cake. As for the last proposed first-party title, it would be the rumored project that Tomonobu Itagaki is allegedly working on. If Microsoft could get the famed Dead or Alive creator on board as a developer, then their first-party – and “second-party” – line-up would become stellar. Moving on, the last portion of Microsoft’s press conference should give attention to two aspects: timed exclusives from a third-party point-of-view and adding new Xbox Live Arcade titles. For the timed exclusives, we have envisioned something around these lines of securing Capcom’s Strider 3 and Namco-Bandai’s Ridge Racer 8. Now, these two titles haven’t been announced or even rumored, but they are bound to happen with the landscape of each publisher at this current point.
Capcom is resurrecting their key franchises from their past, while Namco-Bandai hasn’t released a new racer in a long time. Now before tackling the Xbox Live Arcade titles, Microsoft needs to let everyone have a sigh of relief when they announce that they are working with Square-Enix to assist in their development for a Xbox 360 version of Final Fantasy XIV. It’s needed and Microsoft would be fools to not work with Square-Enix to add another MMO to the Xbox 360 library. The Xbox Live Arcade segments of their press conferences often don’t receive a lot of attention besides a slideshow and brief announcements. We expect 2009 to be no different so we’ll shortly mention titles that would be great additions to the XBLA. The role-playing genre is in sore need of representation on the service so adding any Final Fantasy title would advance the genre by leaps and bounds. Along with a Final Fantasy title, Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, The Legend of Y’s: Books I & II and Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure would be pleasant surprises.
Capcom often likes to remaster their classic titles, so Power Stone HD and Viewtiful Joe would be welcomed with open arms. Lastly, Konami needs to start re-mastering their titles and the original Castlevania and Contra III would be excellent starting points. By the end of the 2009 Tokyo Game Show, Microsoft would have stolen the show and created a buzz of positive feedback due to their newfound stance on the Japanese market. Will any of this happen? There’s not a doubt in our mind that Microsoft is going to attempt to win back some of the doubters who have ruled out the American console ever performing better than it has so far. But most likely, a lot of the aforementioned ideas won’t come into play; especially all at one time. PlanetXbox360 will have full coverage of the 2009 Tokyo Game Show later this week, until then please head over to our forums and let us know what you think Microsoft needs to do to capture the Japanese gaming audience.
