Sony “could punish them”: Ex-Xbox exec on Japan’s PS2-era video game publishing industry

In a recent interview marking the 25th anniversary of Xbox, former Microsoft executive Ed Fries discussed his struggles to break into the Japanese market in the early 2000s. Fries, who was the VP of game publishing during the original Xbox’s heyday, wanted to bring Japanese studios and developers to the platform. He said he aimed to secure major franchises like Final Fantasy for Xbox and even held talks with Square Enix executives, but Sony maintained a firm grip on the Japanese video game market.

In the interview, Fries recalled being in talks with Square and other Japanese publishers at the time, hoping to secure deals that could give Microsoft a foothold in the Japanese video game market. 

Some Japanese studios were genuinely interested in bringing their games to Xbox, but many of the conversations remained vague and lighthearted. Sony had already established itself as a juggernaut in the Japanese video game market, and publishers wanted to tread lightly to avoid being blacklisted from the highly successful PlayStation platform.

A risk-averse domestic publishing industry

In an interview with Expansion Pass, he said, “With some of them we were able to make deals; with others we weren’t. They (Xbox) were able to do some deals with Square after I left, but it was always a tough discussion because they wanted Sony to have competition, yet they couldn’t be too overt in their support of Xbox. They couldn’t make it too obvious that they were backing Xbox.”

The reason is fairly clear: the PS2 was a juggernaut in the console space during its heyday and cemented its status as the best-selling video game console of all time, shipping more than 160 million units globally.

The PS2 and the broader PlayStation brand were essentially the kings of the video game market in Japan, and many Japanese studios and publishers feared that stepping out of line would lead to serious consequences from Sony.

Fries explained, “Sony could punish them if they wanted to,” adding that the company could, if it chose, delay sending developer kits or pull back on promotional marketing or support for their games.

However, some Japanese publishers took the risk. Tecmo, for instance, deliberately made Dead or Alive 3 and Dead or Alive 4 exclusive to Xbox.

Fries commented, “They did it partly to weaken Sony because they wanted Sony to have competitors. Otherwise, it’s a monopoly, and monopolies, you know, just do whatever they want.”