If Microsoft wanted to make inroads in Japan they will always be an obvious choice but it seems Capcom are not interested, with chief operating officer Haruhito Tsujimoto admitting: ‘There was once a time we were a target, but rather than acquiring an outside company we prefer organic growth.’
‘It is important to train and develop human resources in-house in order to carry out growth strategies. I also believe we can utilise external partners but we have no intention of acquiring companies.’what they would do if Microsoft made an offer for Capcom he answered: ‘I would gracefully decline the offer, because I believe it would be better if we were equal partners.’
Thanks to having such a strong 2023, Capcom’s expects to post its best ever financial year next March. Although the bad news is they’re also looking to expand the number of mobile games the company makes, which remains the dominant format in Japan. For its part, Microsoft has promised that Xbox will see more Japanese AAA games in the future, with Phil Spencer claiming that, ‘We are currently developing new games in collaboration with Japanese companies.’, he didn’t name any names, but he did insist that it was not difficult for Xbox to make deals for ‘uniquely Japanese AAA titles such as Lost Odyssey or Blue Dragon.’
That seems a strange thing to say given have few Japanese exclusives have appeared on an any Xbox console, especially in recent years.