Excitement continues to mount in advance of the next generation of consoles set to arrive towards the end of this year. Part of the excitement took the head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, over to Japan last week to continue talking and listening to various studios and publishers about this year and into the future. His trip left fans curious to know just what it was he was doing out there, only left with his comments of strong energy and excitement about what was being discussed. Nearly a week later, Xbox fans finally have their answer.
In a follow-up Tweet, Phil Spencer provided a recap of his Japan trip, saying that the executive continued to discuss topics like the Xbox Series X, Game Pass, and Project XCloud. While no specific publishers or studios were mentioned by name, Spencer also made sure to confirm that he did get hands on time with various games, both unannounced and previously revealed to the public.
Naturally, the lack of specifics didn't stop the community from trying to guess or hope for certain things to happen as a result from this trip. Fans continue to speculate everything from new game studio acquisition announcements at E3 2020, another Platinum Games partnership, Lost Odyssey 2 getting greenlit, Nioh getting released on an Xbox platform, and other games like Persona 5 or Ni No Kuni getting revealed as well.
Spencer also mentioned that E3 2020 was also a topic of discussion, which should no longer be a surprise considering that E3 is once again squarely in the hands of Microsoft with Sony back out for a second consecutive year. In fact, Microsoft has been making a point to include more announcements from Japanese studios in its presentations, even if the game isn't exclusive to the Xbox. Last year saw the surprising reveal of Phantasy Star Online 2, From Software's Elden Ring, and Tales of Arise.
E3 wasn't the only place for surprising reveals. Last last year, Microsoft dropped a ton of surprising Game Pass news to fans. As part of the X019 event in London, Microsoft revealed that Square Enix is launching 10 Final Fantasy games on the popular service this year. This includes games like Final Fantasy XIII, XV, VII, and many others as well. In addition, Sega is bringing its former PlayStation exclusive Yakuza series to the service with three games: Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami, and Yakuza Kiwami 2.
With a new gaming platform on the horizon, Phil Spencer is clearly trying to change the perception that the Xbox brand isn't a true destination for JRPGs. With plenty of events still to come in 2020, Microsoft seems to have plenty of news in store for players.