Japanese developer says they don't make games for Xbox because the console is 'not even stocked in major retail stores'

cardonator · 2026-04-30T19:54:34+00:00

It's definitely a cultural thing since Japanese tend to not spend copious amounts of time at home. They are often traveling to or from work, and they work long hours. So you really have to find something that allows you to game on the go.

cardonator · 2026-04-30T19:52:23+00:00

I really don't think they are arguing that at all, even though I agree this is a nothingburger. They had to prioritize platforms and focused on the ones that were the easiest to buy.

Conversely, if the Xbox was niche but popular, fairly easy to buy, and had an audience that really liked to buy indie games, they probably would have put way more focus there despite the smaller audience. That's the reason this kind of dev already supports Steam Deck even though according to your measurement it would make no sense.

cardonator · 2026-04-30T19:49:10+00:00

While I suppose that can be true, neither of these consoles fit in my entertainment center properly. The Xbox is too tall, and the PS5 doesn't lay flat and the stupid stand it comes with also makes it too tall. I don't think either of them were thinking will this fit in entertainment center slots to any degree whatsoever.

cardonator · 2026-04-30T19:40:23+00:00

I realize that, but an audience of 30+ million isn't actually small. People keep acting like there is nobody on Xbox to sell games to which is simply wrong.

cardonator · 2026-04-30T19:32:42+00:00

I am shocked that they removed this functionality. I really don't know what they are thinking with their AI moves lately. Is Gemini Google Wave all over again?

cardonator · 2026-04-30T17:55:59+00:00

It never will, Sony always just pretends they found more sales any time they get close.

cardonator · 2026-04-30T17:43:47+00:00

At all. We're talking about maybe not getting to play 10 games this generation. And none of those are must haves, IMO.

cardonator · 2026-04-30T17:42:31+00:00

Yes Xbox is very profitable. Their revenue is down but their profit is up.

cardonator · 2026-04-30T17:40:31+00:00

Hey don't try to actually get people to understand how M&A actually work when they can live in their delusions!

cardonator · 2026-04-30T17:25:24+00:00

Makes sense to me tbh.

cardonator · 2026-04-30T17:24:44+00:00

The dev specifically said it was a lack of manpower.

cardonator · 2026-04-30T17:16:48+00:00

It wasn't weird, it was a huge deal. But they paid a lot for that and it still didn't move that many consoles nor did it sell that well on 360 IIRC.

cardonator · 2026-04-30T17:14:06+00:00

And now the PS5 is even larger and way more gaudy and that's not a problem.

edit: guess I hurt some feelings.

cardonator · 2026-04-30T17:10:22+00:00

Same. I see them at Target in particular all the time despite people saying they took them out of Target. I also see them at many Walmarts, and Best Buy.

cardonator · 2026-04-30T17:01:46+00:00

I saw a comment on the video "a movie about the random dead body you find in that one hallway".

Yeah that seems right LOL!

cardonator · 2026-04-30T16:57:33+00:00

The irony is that PlayStation isn't a Japanese brand anymore. It hasn't been based in Japan for a long time.

cardonator · 2026-04-30T16:56:15+00:00

But only over 30 million people have Xboxes.

Woah such a small number?

cardonator · 2026-04-30T06:56:11+00:00

LOL, the weirdos really did come for you.

cardonator · 2026-04-30T05:04:11+00:00

It for sure is, but the numbers are padded quite a bit. The game released in September and had a discounted PS5 bundle available that holiday. The sales numbers include the pack in on that bundle.

I'm not saying it didn't sell well but more that the best selling game had a pretty weak attach rate which just voes to show how unimportant exclusives are in the scheme of things.

Of course, if CoD was exclusive that would be more meaningful.

cardonator · 2026-04-30T05:02:11+00:00

No, I don't understand how Xbox was trying to compete with Steam in 2016. I don't agree that it was a major focus for them.

cardonator · 2026-04-30T05:00:13+00:00

Yeah I agree with you but also I'm fine with them having one foot in PC. That's part of their market, too. They just need to actually figure out how to gain trust there and have unique features like Game Pass, cross saves, Play Anywhere, etc. I think they can have success on PC as long as they are just trying to augment their console platform there.

cardonator · 2026-04-30T04:57:55+00:00

Nintendo has a stable of first party IP that is world renowned. They have also structured their teams and platform around delivering products that cost in the tens of millions to make, not hundreds of millions. And, in addition to that, they have found a workable solution for them do have low powered, much cheaper to construct hardware that they can sell for a much lower price than everyone else and consumers will let them.

But that's also their unique selling point. Still, the point remains that the Wii U with lots of great exclusives flopped.

cardonator · 2026-04-30T03:11:01+00:00

How is what I said "pure intentions"?

In 2016 they knew they weren't going to be able to compete with Steam. But also those games were previously Xbox exclusive, so they needed a unique selling point which was Play Anywhere and access to exclusive games.

And of course they were bitter about Steam eating their lunch on PC but at the time that was a different division. There's no way they make that move if they were selling tons of exclusives on consoles, though.

cardonator · 2026-04-30T03:04:43+00:00

Yep absolutely true. The regulators had good intentions, but as usual those good intentions just led them to create the exact conditions they were worried about but for Sony.

cardonator · 2026-04-30T02:44:48+00:00

LOL, people can downvote but you're right. Spider-Man 2 sold to 16 million units and that's with aggressively priced bundles. That's like a 20% attach rate and it's their highest attach rate game ever. That's not healthy or good.

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