“We have seen the highest number of Xbox gamers in the region to date,” Phil Spencer, Xbox leader, confirms the expansion in Asia

What you need to know

Microsoft just showed off its Xbox showcase at the Tokyo Game Show in Japan.
The event detailed a variety of Asian games, including heavy hits such as Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster Collection and the Legend of Mana series on Xbox.
During the event, Xbox leader Phil Spencer revealed that Microsoft currently has the largest install base in Asia that the console platform has ever had.
Microsoft’s Xbox continues to face stiff competition from PlayStation, which outsells Xbox at a 3:1 ratio in some markets. Although both manufacturers reported year-over-year declines in hardware sales.

Microsoft today held a presentation at the Tokyo Game Show showcasing its efforts to provide greater support for the Xbox platform in the Asia region.

During the Tokyo Game Show event, Microsoft detailed collaborations with companies like Square Enix and Konami, releasing new trailers for Metal Gear Solid 3: Delta and Suikoden re-releases. Square Enix also launched Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters on Xbox Play Anywhere, as well as classic games Legend of Mana and Trials of Mana available with Xbox Game Pass. Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D has also been confirmed to be available on Xbox, along with a host of other games of all shapes and sizes.

RELATED: Everything Xbox announced at Tokyo Game Show 2024

During the event, we also received updates on Xbox’s performance in the region, which should encourage gaming fans from countries such as Japan, China and Korea.

Xbox CEO Phil Spencer says: “More people in Asia are playing Xbox across all devices this year than ever before. We have seen the highest number of Xbox gamers in the region to date.” pic.twitter.com/u5AuvW1BX6September 26, 2024

Sharing the update, Xbox leader Phil Spencer noted: “More people in Asia are playing Xbox across all devices this year than ever before. We have seen the highest number of Xbox gamers in the region to date.”

Spencer’s comments echo sentiments from Microsoft’s recent June 2024 Xbox Game Showcase, where Microsoft confirmed that Xbox now has its largest-ever active console install base, surpassing previous milestones. This applies to active players on Xbox One, Xbox Series from Microsoft PR.

Microsoft, however, has joined Sony and Nintendo in declining year-over-year hardware sales as users become stickier than previous generations of consoles. This time around, more and more gamers are simply sticking with last-gen consoles, with PlayStation 4 and Xbox One enjoying erratic longevity due to service-based games like Roblox, Fortnite and Minecraft. More and more gamers are also making the switch to PC as more and more titles feature cross-saving, allowing gamers to transfer their content to any device they choose. Overall, however, Xbox rose more than 44% thanks to growth from the Activision-Blizzard acquisition.

RELATED: A modern tribute to ‘Chrono Trigger’ arrives at the Tokyo Game Show on Xbox.

The fact that Xbox consoles in Asia continue to grow rather than shrink is a good sign that Microsoft is on the right path in the region. There’s clearly a lot of hard work ahead of us on games like Genshin Impact on Xbox, Yakuza, Persona from Sega, and now Final Fantasy from Square Enix. And for fans of this type of games, it certainly paid off.

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There’s still a lot of work to be done for Xbox in Asia

Xbox Tokyo Game Show 2024 broadcast – YouTube

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Microsoft has finally mended its relationship with Square Enix, joining companies like Sega/Atlus and MiHoYo in providing more Xbox support to gaming fans in the Asian region. However, there is still much to do.

Microsoft has recently cracked down on the so-called “gray market” in regions such as the Middle East and Central Asia, where users bought imported Xbox consoles and then purchased games digitally in markets offering regional price cuts, such as Argentina, to play them. In recent weeks, Microsoft has blocked more of these purchase paths, causing top users in unsupported territories to lose access to them. Microsoft could do a lot more to provide more official support to these regions, increasing localization efforts while also developing data centers and local teams to promote all kinds of Xbox games there. If Xbox has the largest user base in Asia than ever before, there clearly is some demand, right?

For all the victories Microsoft has had in recent years in Central and Southeast Asia, it has also had a few setbacks. Microsoft signed a long exclusivity deal for Japan’s Pokemon alternative Palworld earlier this year, but missed out on China’s Black Myth Wukong, which recently achieved at least a regional record of 20 million units sold in a single month for a full single-player title.

As a Final Fantasy fan, I eat well and I’m finally getting the Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster collection that was previously exclusive NO on Xbox. There’s every reason to believe that Final Fantasy 16 and Final Fantasy 7 Remake will eventually land on Xbox as well (and we hear they’re on the way). We should see other MiHoYo games make their way to Xbox as well, including Honkai Star Rail and Zenless Zone Zero once their PlayStation exclusivity ends. We also see Dynasty Warriors Origins and games like Metaphor: ReFantazio coming to Xbox on day one, something that would have been unlikely in previous years.

However, there is still clearly more to do here. Perhaps the Xbox handheld could help Microsoft grow even more in the region…