Xbox Acquisition of Tango is a 'Great Step' to Expand Its First-Party Presence in Japan - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 03 July 2021 / 2,862 Views
With the Bethesda Softworks' parent company ZeniMax Media acquisition now complete for Microsoft the number of first-party Xbox studios has grown from 15 to 23. One of the newly acquired studios is the Japanese-based Tango Gameworks. This is the first Japanese video game studio to be owned by Microsoft.
Tango Gameworks was founded by Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami and is the developer behind The Evil Within and the upcoming Ghostwire Tokyo.
Head of Xbox Phil Spencer during the roundtable chat with Bethesda said that he is ready to go visit Tango and that it is a studio he has a lot of respect for.
"I’m ready to go to Tokyo, to go see Tango [Gameworks], a studio which I have such respect for [and] the history of the creations there," said Spencer and transcribed by VideoGamesChronicle.
"I’ve talked for a long time about our desire to have more of a first-party presence in Japan. This is a great step there. Thinking about the map of where these teams are, and talking about all the games they’re working on… I can’t wait to speak to the Tango team and get to know them."
Tango founder Shinji Mikami on a recorded video during the roundtable said he was "look[ing] forward to the inspiration that will spark from our new relationship with the people at Xbox."
The next game from Tango Gameworks is the PlayStation 5 console timed exclusive, Ghostwire Tokyo.
The Xbox has historically struggled in Japan and so far the Xbox Series X|S isn't performing any better than previous Xbox consoles in the country.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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Yes! The Evil Within was one of my favorite games from the last gen. Hope we get to see a third entry!
So, while Sony is closing down a studio, Microsoft is expanding it's presence in Japan.
I don't think this will have much impact if any in Japan. Evil Within games are great, and were my favorite Resident Evil type games after RE4 until Capcom finally decided to make good Resident Evil games again recently. Japan is Nintendo country at this point.
I just hope that Microsoft can growth their influence and that all Japanese studios see value in putting their game on the Xbox platform even if after a time exclusive on Sony platform. Yakuza series on game pass was an eye opener and hopefully the Persona series will eventually make its way to Xbox.
Nahh it won't do much
im sure that bethesda means a big deal to a lot of people but i myself dont see this as a loss...
only games i like from em wasnt even made by bethesda dev rather arkhane studios dishonored 1 and tangos evil within 1/2
so yeah props to microsoft cashing in big hopefully they improve Bethesda's mediocre gamez...
Outside of ID, Tango is one of the promising companies i like under Beth. Hoping they make a Evil Within 3 on a much bigger budget.
For fks sake.. That means playstation loses the evil within 3..
first of all ff7 remake was in the works for years and was a playstation game to begin with. We aren't talking about established games that started out as multiplats. I don;ty care if microsoft get's new exclusives , but games that have been established as muliplats for years on multiplle platforms with a number of titles to each series, would be complete bullshit to then stop releasing on one platform.
FF7 was a PS/PC game which Sony has no input in with developing. Its a pure 3rd party game. I am still waiting for FF7RM to release on PC thanks to the money hat. Also just look at Spiderman, a character with so many games on other platforms that Sony kept off with the new game, as well as the Spiderman DLC on a avengers game.
Keep in mind Insomica was not owned by Sony back than either. This exclusive BS works both ways and has and always will be anti consumer.
Spiderman released on ps4. When was the last decent spiderman franchise that was multiplatform? Don't try compare the situation. There is a difference between making new exclusives for a console and taking away established multiplats.
Seems like you fail to understand your own rules. Spiderman and FF7 have been multiplatform releases just like Evil Within. If MS decide to make a 3rd Evil WIthin game, whats the difference between what Sony did with Spiderman? Both new content right?
The concept is the same, A company goes in, buys the IP or the Rights to keep it off other platforms. Lets not act like this is a one way street, also just because a previous game launched on a console in the past doesn't mean that platform maker owns the IP and the rights to the game. FF7 has released on many platfroms to date and the Original is not a Sony game just like how Nintendo doesn't own the rights to Chrono Trigger.
Imagine being so ignorant that you do not even realize Sony never did moneyhat for Spider-Man, and yet you use that as a counter-argument for why a third-party publisher acquisition priced at $7.5 billion is the same.
At least read a little bit about what you're talking about before making yourself look so ignorant in public.
So the Marvels Avengers Spiderman DLC was just a coincidences right? Get off your high horse.
Looks like you'll need a product with Gamepass on it then.
Marvel's Spider-Man was Insomniac's first Spider-Man game. Sure there are other games with the Spider-Man IP out there that were multiplat, but those weren't any good except for Spiderman 2. Insomniac has worked with Sony for decades releasing the bulk of their games exclusively for Sony.
Meanwhile Tango is on their 3rd game in the Evil Within series.
As for FF7 Remake. Yeah, that was a dirty move on Sony's part.
Quality of the game doesnt change the fact Spiderman was moneyhatted. I can understand Sony were more involved with the new Spiderman game however thats no different to MS being more involved with Evil Within 3.
The concept is the same except MS actually owns The Evil Within where as Sony only own the movie rights to Spiderman.
Seriously, how does it feel living in your own ignorant bubble?
I replied to you telling you to not further embarrass yourself regarding this whole 'Sony moneyhatted Disney/Marvel' nonsense, and yet here you are happily repeating your false information like a parrot.
For your own sake, you should know it was first Marvel that approached Sony asking them to develop a game based on one of Marvel's properties. They wanted a game developed with the kind of high quality generally associated with Sony's first-party studios.
All of Sony's studios were busy with their own projects at that time, so they went to Insomniac, and Insomniac had the liberty to choose whichever IP or character they desired, and they chose Spider-Man willingly, and as they say, the rest is history.
Not every mutual partnership is moneyhat, and you should try not to come across so desperate by creating a false equivalence in order to defend a trillion dollar company that gives no shit about you whatsoever.
Yeah, Azzanation has no clue what he is talking about. He thinks that every Sony exclusive was moneyhatted or unfair in some way. Nevermind that Marvel's Spider-Man would not have existed if not for Sony/Insomniac.
I guarantee you we would still be getting Bethesda games MS or no MS. The same cannot be said for Marvel's Spider-Man, or many 1st/2nd party games out there.
And i garentee you that we would still have Spiderman games with or without Sony.
Yes, 6/10 multi-platform Spider-Man games like you used to.
And you think it was Marvel telling Sony to keep the game off other platforms? If so you are dense. Marvel would care less how many platforms the game releases on.
So stop crying that MS uses the same buisness tactics.
Marvel went to Sony for a first-party studio to develop a game based on one of many Marvel’s IPs.
Do you simply not understand what a first-party Sony game means? It means PlayStation exclusive in case you have a hard time grasping something so simple.
There wasn’t even the slightest bit of contention regarding the exclusivity of Marvel’s Spider-Man, because that’s exactly what Bill Rosemann, the head of Marvel Games went to Sony for in the first place, and if you have any proof that suggests otherwise, please feel free to share them.
Oh and isn’t it seriously embarrassing for you that instead of showing humility for being wrong about ‘Sony moneyhatted Marvel for an exclusive Spider-Man game’, you are here instead calling others dense to make up for your own ignorance.
I say what should be more important to you than fabricating facts for the sake of console war is some deep and serious self-reflection.
And here you are trying to justify yourself and deals based on PR.
Let me try to keep this simple so you understand. Marvel did approach Sony, no one is arguing that. Sony are the ones who dictate the exclusivity. You seem to be following simple PR talk and believing Sony didn't have a choice where the game went, when infact the reason the new Spider man game is locked to one platform is all Sony's doing. Much the same if MS decide to lock the Evil Within 3 to Xbox which is what the entire point is about. Difference here is that the Evil Within is now a 1st party IP under MS where as Spiderman is not a 1st party IP under Sony.
People act like its okay when Sony do it (FF7R and SFV) but when a rival competitor does it (Rise of Tomb Raider) its all wrong and an insult. All platform holders dictate where the games go when making deals, much the same as MS with Bethesda games and Sony with Spiderman. Marvel could have easily gone to someone else (ie Rocksteady) to make a Spiderman game without the exclusivity right.
I am not here to discuss deals because the end results are all the same. Sony do it, MS do it and Nintendo do it. There is no justifying facts on believing when one does it, its okay because of reasons while if another does it and its not ok because of reasons.
To close this up, I would be more than happy if the Evil Within 3 was on all platforms so more people can play it, however that might not be the reality, and i keep that same logic with all games. Exclusives and the deals made is all for greed and pushing people to invest into other platform hence the term moneyhatting because money talks.
Well I mean, google and amazon were looking into buying Bethesda. Only MS offered to invest in preventing that, so they deserve to do with what they legally purchased as they please. Had they not, things would have been much worse.
And I am sure many would have loved FF7R or FF16 on XBox without a Sony moneyhat, after every single player Final Fantasy and their spin offs since 13 released day and date on both platforms. Doesn't matter how many years ago the development and moneyhat took place, it still happened.
They went about it in different ways, but in both cases it is just good business. Your personal feeling or console loyalty has nothing to do with any of it.
Well what I do know is fallout 5 and elder scrolls is coming to ps5, which is what matters most.
You must like setting yourself up for disappointment if you think that. Or do you not comprehend that phil confirmed anything without a pre existing contract will be exclusive to XBox, PC, and gamepass.
Fallout 5 has likely not even hit early development, and ES6 is still very early in with current focus on Starfield. If you think they are going to PS5 you are truly lying to yourself.
If you think otherwise, it's crazy. Phil has mentioned in another interview " some new tiltles from bethesda will be exclusive to xbox and pc" that's "some" . Also mentioned before it's a case by case basis. Their main focus is gamepass, and they don't lose out if games do go on to ps5, eventually, whether on launch or months later. Do you really think they would want to miss out on the millions of ps5 players who won't be switiching over to xbox? It's a win win situation for microsoft.
Also his wording in the last interview, "exclusive to gamepass" yes it's exclusive to gamepass day 1, but phil never said " all future games bar contractuall obligations, will only be available on gamepass systems, and no other consoles" He never stated " no other consoles", and never emphasised on the fact, when he could have made it loud and clear. And we know how the word "exclusive " has been used in the past. And going by his last few interviews, it confirms some games will be coming multiplatform.
Gamepass and having that library on day 1 is what they care about. It's never about keeping games forever off another console, it's all about gamepass.
You are taking quotes that were left vague due to the deal having not closed yet. He legally could not say anything more than he did. After the deal closed, he said "all future games will be exclusive to platforms that have gamepass."
Not timed, but exclusive. He will honor contracts (Deathloop and GWT) and support games that are already there, but unless Sony allows gamepass on PS5 (they won't) ES6 and F5 will not be there. As you said, the focus is gamepass. So in order to entice people to come over to gamepass, it would be most beneficial to only put the games on platforms that have it. Putting the games on PS5 would go against that goal, and no amount of single uniy sales on PS5 would be worth doing that. That's why the Series S, XCloud, and PC are an option. Those that don't want to drop 500 on a Series X have plenty of options. Why would a PS5 only gamer bother with the MS ecosystem if they can get their games on PS5?
They wouldn't, but if they still wanted to play MS/Beth games they would either sub to gamepass on PC or get a Series S or X as a secondary console to potentially join the service there. Phil said himself that was the entire point of the acquisition.
Do yourself a favor and stop with the mental gymnastics, you are only setting yourself up to be let down again in the future.
The whole point of the aquision is to make gamepass enticing. They want all people to see the value of gamepass and question why they should bother buying physicals copies or digital games yearly when for a small monthly fee , they can have a vast library and new games. Having their games eventually release on another console does not take away the value proposition of gamepass.
As for the word exclusive, it's been used differently in the past. Being exclusive does not mean forever on that system. Why would spencer say , "some' of bethesdas new titles will only be available on xbox/pc. Why couldn't he say " most".
As for ps5 userbase, say it get's to 50 million before elder scrolls or fallout 5 or some other big betheda game releases. How many people do you think would be aware of the aquisition or that supposedly they can't play that game on their system. How many people do you think will be able to afford or bother with a new system?
Spencer seems to have been a supporter of gamers and consoles on both sides judging from his tweets in the past. I doubt he would want to anger a lot of communities expecting to play the once multiplat on their system.
Believe what you want, but I still believe some games will eventually release on ps5, not day one but eventually, while game pass grows and microsoft makes a killing with it. The only time I won't think so, is if spencer mentions the word , " will not release on any other console". I won't be disappointed or upset if i'm wrong though, besides elder scrolls, i'm not expecting much to get excited for.
