Could the Xbox One Finally Make a Splash in Japan?
While the Xbox One has found most of its success in the US/EU regions, it’s struggled to make any headway in Japan. It’s not for a lack of trying either — the company has definitely made attempts to boost console sales in Japan in previous years, but the power of Sony and Nintendo is just too strong. With that said, it looks like Microsoft is trying once again to make a splash there.
According to their career page, Microsoft is looking for a new role to be filled for a brand-new Xbxox Asia Division that would aim to seek partnerships in the area and to expand in new markets. The job is for a Senior Director in Global Gaming Partnerships and Development in Asia.
“The Microsoft Global Gaming Partnership & Development team (GGPD) is looking for a knowledgeable, experienced, and energetic leader to lead partnership and business development in Japan, China, and South Korea to make Microsoft the global leader in Gaming,” reads the job listing.
As far as responsibilities go, it goes on to say the following:
“As a leader across the Asia region, you will work with other business development leads, finance and legal teams to source, develop and manage key partnerships to support Microsoft’s strategic gaming initiatives including Xbox One, Mixer, Game Pass and Gaming Cloud. You will collaborate closely with engineering and marketing teams and lead local resources to advance the Microsoft presence in these key markets. You will also be asked to assist in creating strategies for new gaming-related services and/or business models that will drive revenue and user growth across all gaming platforms, including, but not limited to, subscriptions, streaming, and mobile.”
Xbox has been trying to break ground in Japan — especially under the leadership of Phil Spencer — so perhaps this could be the start of something fruitful. With games like Kingdom Hearts III, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and Devil May Cry 5 making appearances at Xbox’s E3 stage this year, perhaps Spencer is finally getting Xbox’s foot in the door in Japan. We suppose we’ll just have to wait and see.
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