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Sakaguchi Talks 'Intriguing' Wii, Xbox 360 Japan Marketing Woes
by David Jenkins
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May 2, 2007
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Quoted in the latest issue of EGM magazine, as reported on by related website 1UP.com, Final Fantasy and Blue Dragon creator Hironobu Sakaguchi has been discussing both the Wii and the marketing of the Xbox 360 in Japan.
During the interview, Sakaguchi was relatively open regarding all three console manufacturers, admitting that the Wii is “intriguing”, but that he currently had no plans for making games for the format.
He also expressed concern regarding the Xbox 360 and Microsoft's other marketing campaigns in Japan, saying: “Microsoft has to change its marketing strategy in Japan. There are a lot of excellent games on the 360, far better games than what's on the Wii or PS3. But not a lot of people in Japan have a clear idea what games like Gears of War are all about. Just look at the Windows Vista commercial - it's terrible.”
In a relatively acerbic aside, Sakaguchi was also asked why he had no projects planned for the PlayStation 3. He answered that, “The machine's architecture is tricky, and I don't like Ken Kutaragi.”
Sakaguchi left Square, and the Final Fantasy franchise he helped create, in 2003 to form his own development studio named Mistwalker. Although the company is technically multiformat, with at least one Nintendo DS title (ASH: Archaic Sealed Heat) currently scheduled, it is most closely associated with the Xbox 360 – despite the format’s small userbase in Japan.
The first Mistwalker title, developed in association with Artoon, has been role-playing game Blue Dragon, which inspired a significant, but unsustained, rise in Xbox 360 hardware sales in Japan and is due for release in the West later this year. Sakaguchi is also working on Lost Odyssey with Feel Plus as an Xbox 360 exclusive, in addition to upcoming Artoon co-created Xbox 360 title Cry On.
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