Xbox has famously struggled to find a foothold in the Japanese gaming market. It made a huge push for Japanese gamers in the Xbox 360 era by commissioning Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi and his Mistwalker studio to create exclusives like Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey, but that didn't really translate to Xbox 360 console sales. Now with new consoles on the horizon, Xbox is renewing its focus on Japan, making various moves designed to help it become more widely-accepted by Japanese gamers.
This included a presence at Tokyo Game Show, where Xbox heavily promoted the Xbox Series S and X consoles, while also announcing things like Japanese content for Microsoft Flight Simulator. During the Tokyo Game Show 2020 festivities, Microsoft also introduced a new anime mascot that will represent the Xbox brand in the region, specifically the Xbox Series S console.
The Xbox anime girl mascot is designed to look like a human Xbox Series S, with white armor adorned with various Xbox logos and symbols. The Xbox anime girl also has an Xbox Series S console handy, though she's holding a black controller, which is what comes bundled with the Xbox Series X console. Other details one can spot on the Xbox anime girl include what appears to be an HDMI cord, a headset, and the redesigned Xbox Series X/S controller d-pad.
While some may laugh at Microsoft's Xbox anime girl as a silly marketing ploy, there is no denying that the next-generation consoles are already enjoying great success in the region. Microsoft's Xbox Series X/S consoles pre-orders sold out almost instantly, showing that Microsoft may very well be able to make head-way in Japan in a manner that it was never able to accomplish in its past attempts.
One reason why Xbox pre-orders may have flown off the shelves in Japan is due to things like Xbox All Access, which allows people to get next-generation consoles without paying the full price outright, as well as the relatively low-cost of the Xbox Series S. The Xbox Series S is just $299, making it the cheapest next-generation console on the market. This low-cost entry into next-generation gaming is definitely appealing to many, and it will be interesting to see just how popular the Series S becomes when it's all said and done.
Meanwhile, it will also be interesting to see if Microsoft makes more aggressive attempts to break into the Japanese gaming market. Microsoft did acquire a major Japanese gaming studio with Tango Gameworks, which came as part of the Bethesda acquisition, so maybe it will look into acquiring more Japanese development studios in the years ahead.