Microsoft Set To Mistwalk All Over Sony In 2009?
Have you ever thought of accomplishing something so incredible that you will always be remembered for? Have you ever thought of going through a tunnel, against all odds, only to come out the other side triumphant, and be remembered for that for all eternity? Have you ever thought of achieving something that was known to be impossible, yet you somehow came through and managed to pull it off, and for that you were remembered by history till the end of time?
That is exactly what Mistwalker has managed to do in the last two years. In truth, I believe that Mistwalker will always be remembered for what they have done so far for Microsoft. However, in 2009, make no mistake, they will be cemented on the pages of history, forever, for what they are about to do next.
Mistwalker has recently released a piece of artwork for a possible project that they might be developing. The artwork was done by Kimihiko Fujisaka, the same artist that worked on Drakengard. According to the creators page on the Mistwalker site, he has confirmed that he is currently working on a new project. However, he denies that the released image is from the project at hand. On the creators page, he writes: “My name is Fujisaka and I’m an artist. I’m currently being challenged with Mistwalker’s new project. This illustration has nothing to do with it, but it’s a single drawing I did recently”.
The image displays a fantasy character with mythical creatures behind him. Following this further, even though the character gives viewers the impression that this might be an indication of a Lost Odyssey sequel, the artist that created this image did clarify that it is not related to his current project. However, he did not deny that the image could have something that would hint at the current project. More importantly, the color Blue is apparent on the male character, in addition to the fact that one of the creatures behind him is a Dragon. Thus, it would be fair to assume that the image could be an indirect hint at a Blue Dragon sequel, unless they were hinting at a merging of franchises; for example, Blue Odyssey or Lost Dragon!
On a side note, for those of you that are thinking of criticizing the image displayed above, I would like to clarify that it is neither a stunt nor is it meant to mislead you. It was taken from the Mistwalker image that I am currently discussing only to point out my thoughts regarding that image. To be clear, I simply magnified the dragon and dyed him blue. Given that fact, I would expect any gamer reading this article to understand what I am implying by doing so!
Back to our topic, in early 2005, Mistwalker had announced two titles for the Xbox 360, which were Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey. Then, in late 2005, they announced a third title, which was Cry On. According to an IGN article, during the announcement, Head of Mistwalker and creator of the Final Fantasy series, Hironobu Sakaguchi described the game in which the player teams up with a giant sand creature; he said the game would have the theme of “tears”. In other words, it was destined to be a highly emotional adventure.
Unfortunately, according to the same article, in December of 2008, AQ Interactive announced that Cry On had been cancelled following considerations involving the current and future state of the gaming market. Therefore, as long as we know that Cry On has been cancelled, the real question here is, what will the next Mistwalker title for Microsoft be? and more importantly, will it come out in 2009?
According to my research, there are three possibilities: Blue Dragon 2, Lost Odyssey 2, or a New IP. However, there is a rumor circulating that suggests that Cry On was not cancelled, but put on hold for the time being to redirect the developer’s resources, in order to speed up the development process of their next game, which is being geared up for 2009!
Moreover, there have also been rumors circulating about a Lost Odyssey sequel and a new IP. In fact, according to an interview with Total Video Games, in July of 2007, Sakaguchi confirmed that he was working on a new title for the Xbox 360. Described as “50% MMO and 50% RPG” and definitely not Cry On or Blue Dragon 2!
However, I am not here to discuss rumors; I am here to give you a thorough analysis of the topic at hand. Hence, I would like to start by stating that I believe that Mistwalker will not be able to complete the development on Lost Odyssey 2 so soon. To be honest, if that actually happens, I would be more concerned than excited. The reason is that RPG titles need more time for polish than any other kind of game. On the other hand, I would not be surprised if a new IP was coming out in 2009, given the fact that Mistwalker has three developers that work with them: Feelplus, Artoon, and Cavia.
In truth, I believe that if Mistwalker is to release a title in 2009, it would have to be Blue Dragon 2. In fact, I would expect Mistwalker to announce Blue Dragon 2 as a 2009 release, and Lost Odyssey 2 or a new IP as a 2010 release. The reasons that follow will cover why Blue Dragon 2 is in the making and why it would be released in 2009:
First, back in early 2005, when Hironobu Sakaguchi first announced Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey for the Xbox 360, he announced them as franchises, and not titles. To explain what I mean, a franchise is basically a product that will continue to evolve, which is exactly what he had in mind for these two titles. He expressed his excitement about building on the success that they will have worldwide and in Japan. He made it clear from the start that they are franchises that he would like to see grow and expand through the years, and used Final Fantasy as an example of how big he would like them to become.
Thus, it would be fair to assume that he already had sequels in mind for them. Furthermore, if he had sequels in mind from the start, the planning process would be different. Meaning, it would not be far fetched to assume that during the pre-production phase of Blue Dragon, they were already working on ideas, characters, and concept artwork for Blue Dragon 2.
In fact, according to an article posted in March of 2007, in an interview with CVG, Sakaguchi said: “Blue Dragon has sold through more than 200,000 units in Japan and again it will continue to build momentum as we get into things like Blue Dragon 2 and Blue Dragon 3“. He went on to say: “And that’s what we’re hoping; to really build on the franchise”.
Second, Blue Dragon 2 had already been in development even before the first Blue Dragon was actually out in Japan. According to Total Video Games, in an interview with Famitsu, on the 21st of November 2006, two weeks before the release of Blue Dragon in Japan, Hironobu Sakaguchi confirmed that development on a Blue Dragon sequel, is already underway. That statement actually confirms that it is a planned franchise. Additionally, it is quite clear that he knew that the first title was not going to be as successful as he would want it to be. Therefore, he decided to slowly grow the franchise’s audience and star power in Japan through sequels. Basically, his plan is to build on the success of the franchise with sequels until the franchise suddenly blows up like Final Fantasy did.
To make things even more interesting, Sakaguchi was interviewed by Spong on the 21st of December 2006, and to be exact, two weeks after the release of Blue Dragon in Japan. In that interview, when asked about his plans for expanding Blue Dragon for the sequel, he replied: “We’re still thinking about that. But we’ve already committed to making Blue Dragon Manga, anime, card games – we want to create a complete Blue Dragon world. With Blue Dragon 2, we’re going to use those elements to expand the Blue Dragon world and the game, and the style we’re using will surprise people“.
Third, as stated above, with Manga, Anime, and card games, Microsoft is pushing the Blue Dragon franchise with unstoppable force, even more than Lost Odyssey. Microsoft would not invest that much time and money or go that far for a product they will not continue to publish. Why do you think Mistwalker developed a Blue Dragon title for the DS and is currently working on another? In addition to the potential profit of releasing a title on a handheld device owned by over millions of gamers, the potential exposure for such a title is priceless. That exposure will more than likely raise the profile of the franchise, and thus, attract more gamers to its universe, which is exactly what Microsoft is aiming for.
In other words, Microsoft has been preparing gamers, for years, for the release of Blue Dragon 2. They have been setting the stage, all this time, so that when this juggernaut of a title arrives, it will blow everyone away. It is possible that many of you might disagree with my last point. However, only when Blue Dragon 2 arrives will you clearly see the delayed ripple effect of the first installment. Only then, will you remember my words.
Fourth, back in December of 2007, according to CVG, in an interview with Jiji Press, General Manager of Xbox Division in Japan, Takashi Sensui said that Microsoft is aiming to double its number of Xbox 360 games in Japan to 500 in 2008, and hinted that the Blue Dragon sequel might lead the charge. If the sequel does not exist why would Sensui mention it?
This interview confirms the existence of Blue Dragon 2. Apparently, having a Blue Dragon sequel on the Xbox 360 is a must for Microsoft. Nevertheless, some of you might be assuming that the absence of the Blue Dragon sequel in 2008 suggests a possible cancellation. Mark my words, Blue Dragon 2 is coming. In fact, this brings me to a very interesting question, why would Microsoft release the Blue Dragon sequel in 2008? After all, if they had released it in 2008, it would have been in direct competition with all the other JRPG titles that were out at the same time. That would have affected the sales of all the titles involved, including the Blue Dragon sequel.
More importantly, I believe that Lost Odyssey, Tales of Vesperia, Infinite Undiscovery, and The Last Remnant were more than enough to cover the JRPG genre for the whole year. Besides, even if Square and Namco decide to release more exclusive JRPG titles for the Xbox 360 in 2009, which they probably will, this year will not be as crowded, in the JRPG department, as last year. In other words, there will be plenty of room for everyone to profit. Furthermore, delaying the sequel for another year would give Mistwalker the chance to give it an extra layer of polish, and would give Microsoft a chance to build the hype train for it.
Pursuing this further, delaying it an extra year would give the Xbox 360’s JRPG library the chance to grow even more before the sequel comes out. This way, instead of having four major JRPG titles to play after the Blue Dragon sequel, gamers would have seven. After all, having a larger library to support your first party title would make it even more appealing to gamers. As a result, Blue Dragon 2 would be more valuable, and would therefore sell more copies.
Regardless, the fact that Sensui mentioned Blue Dragon 2 as a 2008 title means that it had already been in development for quite some time. By keeping my last statement in mind, it would be fair to assume that the reason for its absence in 2008, was an intentional delay for a 2009 release.
Fifth, according to CVG, at a Korean press conference, in April of 2007, when asked about the Blue Dragon sequel, Sakaguchi replied: “there’s a possibility that it will be produced as an online title“.
Having the title turn into an MMO, an online cooperative RPG, or a game with some online interactivity, will surely make it more valuable to Microsoft because online RPGs, in general, have a large fanbase. However, regardless of whether or not it does turn into an online game, the fact is, he mentioned it because it exists and it is in the making.
Sixth, JRPG titles are a priority for Microsoft, and what better title for them to take care of than the JRPG that paved the way for Microsoft’s success in Japan. Even though this may be the case, some journalists were recently arguing the possibility that Microsoft will no longer focus on JRPG titles for Japan, and instead focus on bringing more Western games to the Japanese market. Let me be clear, Microsoft will never stop bringing JRPG titles to their console in Japan.
About six months ago, in an interview with Edge, Takashi Sensui said: “We know that to succeed in the Japanese market, we must provide major RPG franchises for Xbox 360”. He also went on to say: “In order to bring more gamers from a broader segment of consumers to the Xbox 360, we need to make the strengthening of our RPG lineup a priority. We believe that the launch of big RPG titles for Xbox 360 in Japan is an important part of the road to success here. However, it is not everything”. Meaning, in addition to maintaining their focus on JRPG titles, they will also increase their focus on bringing more Western games to the Japanese market. In other words, JRPG titles will always be the main priority.
Seventh, according to an article posted on IGN, on the 21st of November 2006, Sakaguchi revealed that including initial planning, development on Blue Dragon took three years. However, the actual development on the 360 was only a two year process. Moreover, developing sequels on the same hardware usually takes less time simply because after creating the first installment of a game, developers would have already gone through the agony of creating the engine for that game. Based on my last statement, I believe it would be fair to assume that the sequel would not take longer than two years as well.
In summary, according to all the evidence that I have provided so far, Blue Dragon 2 has been in development for the last two years, on a console that is considered easy to develop for, on a piece of hardware that they have been working on for more than four years, and have probably mastered by now, using the Blue Dragon engine created for the first game with a few tweaks, and using a lot of material from the first installment including characters, some enemies, and certain environments. If you also factor in the fact that it initially had a 2008 release date, and was probably delayed to add more exclusives for the Xbox 360 in 2010, I believe that a 2009 release date is not only possible, but inevitable.
Eighth, Blue Dragon has paved the way for the success of Microsoft in Japan; it is that simple. This little Mistwalker miracle has paved the way for Japanese developers as a whole, and companies like Square and Namco, specifically, to dive into the Microsoft ocean. It was the first great JRPG title for Microsoft in the land of the rising sun. More importantly, it continues to hold the belt for being their most successful 1st party exclusive in Japan to date. Thus, it would be fair to state that Blue Dragon is Microsoft’s baby in Japan. After being the first title to break through the great wall that separated them from the Japanese audience, how can it not be?
In fact, after all the success that Blue Dragon has created, so far, for Microsoft, I believe that not releasing a sequel would be, at this point, near impossible.
Ninth, everyone keeps forgetting the fact that even though Microsoft does not own Mistwalker, they have been funding them for a very long time. According to an interview with Kikizo, in August of 2004, when asked about his choice of working with Microsoft, Sakaguchi replied: “the projects needed funding, and obviously a publisher. And at around that time, I was talking to [Xbox Japan boss, Yoshihiro] Maruyama, and also [Microsoft Game Studios' Japan boss, Hiroshi] Kawai. And Mr Maruyama was the one who I worked with when I was still working at Square. At that time, Mr Maruyama was working on U.S. sales of Final Fantasy, so I had a very strong trust with Mr Maruyama, and also Mr Kawai is the one who was working on Final Fantasy VII, VIII and IX, so I really trusted these two, and that’s why I chose to go with Microsoft”. Mark my words, Microsoft will never stop funding its star player in Japan.
Finally, in order for me to illustrate my last point, I will present the sale numbers for the best selling JRPG titles on the Xbox 360 in Japan chronologically. I will mention sales for both day one and week one; I will mention the Overall sales for each title in Japan (OJ), and the Overall sales for each title Worldwide (OW); lastly, I will also state the Japanese release date for all the titles mentioned here. At this point, I would also like to clarify that all the sale numbers that I will present are only for Japan; the only exception is the worldwide sales; with that in mind, I would like to clarify that the numbers are from VG Chartz and are presented in a way that adds simplicity; In spite of that, I would like to assure you that they are quite accurate, with the exception of the numbers with “?” next to them. The numbers will be in units (u); they are as follow:
Blue Dragon:……………Day1=35,000u…..Week1=83,000u…….OJ=210,000u….OW=520,000u….( Dec 2006)
Eternal Sonata:…………Day1=38,000?u…Week1=47,000u……OJ=80,000u……OW=200,000u….( Jun 2007)
Lost Odyssey:…………..Day1=40,000u…..Week1=56,000u…….OJ=110,000u….OW=790,000u….( Dec 2007)
Tales of Vesperia:……..Day1=70,000u…..Week1=106,000u……OJ=170,000u….OW=290,000u…( Aug 2008)
Infinite Undiscovery:…..Day1=65,000?u….Week1=89,000u…….OJ=130,000u….OW=430,000u….( Sep 2008)
The Last Remnant:……Day1=87,000?u…Week1=105,000u……OJ=170,000u….OW=540,000u…( Nov 2008)
Star Ocean 4:…………..Day1=131,000u…Week1=165,000u……OJ=200,000u….OW=336,000u…( Feb 2009)
As you can see, Lost Odyssey holds the title for the highest worldwide sales of a JRPG, on the Xbox 360, in the history of Microsoft, and Star Ocean 4 holds the title for both the highest Day-One sales and the highest Week-One sales in the history of Microsoft in Japan. However, as you can also see, Star Ocean 4 does not hold the title for the best selling game of all time for the Xbox 360 in Japan; that title is still held by Blue Dragon.
This Mistwalker creation has managed to sell over 210,000 copies in Japan so far. On the other hand, you can argue that Star Ocean 4 has managed to sell over 185,000 copies in Japan in the first two weeks, and that it probably surpassed the Blue Dragon numbers by now; to make this argument even more interesting, you can also argue that the reason why Blue Dragon sold that much is because it has been available to gamers in Japan for a much longer time than any other JRPG; I would agree to a certain extent. However, I must clarify that the overall sale numbers for Star Ocean 4, in particular, are the updated numbers released in April of 2009. Meaning, it has not surpassed the Blue Dragon numbers, in Japan, yet. Despite the fact that it will eventually surpass it, I still believe that, so far, Blue Dragon’s performance in Japan is still unmatched by any other JRPG, including Star Ocean 4.
To explain my last statement properly, I will mention to you some of my own observations regarding the sales in Japan. For this purpose, with your permission, I will start to gradually turn back the clock and journey back in time in order for you to understand exactly what I am trying to set forth.
When Star Ocean 4 came out, it raised the hardware sales for the Xbox 360 in Japan to about 25,200 consoles in the first week; sales then dropped to 13,000 consoles in the second week; it then went up to 14,000 consoles in the third week due to the release of Resident Evil 5; then it finally dropped back to the 8,000 console average in the following week. When The Last Remnant was released, it raised the hardware sales to 14,800 consoles in the first week; sales then dropped to 11,800 in the second week and continued dropping from then on. When Infinite Undiscovery was launched, it raised the hardware sales to 28,700 consoles in the first week; sales then dropped to 14,000 consoles in the second week and continued dropping from then on.
When Tales of Vesperia appeared in stores, it raised the hardware sales to 24,700 consoles; sales then dropped dramatically below the weekly average of 7,000 consoles and continued to drop from then on. When Lost Odyssey was unleashed, it raised the hardware sales, slightly, to 8,500 consoles in the first week; sales remained above 8,000 consoles for two more weeks; it then went up to 11,000 consoles before dropping below the weekly average from then on. When Trusty Bell (Eternal Sonata in the US) was out the door, it raised the hardware sales from 2,700 to 7,800 consoles in the first week; sales then dropped to 3,800 the following week and continued to drop from then on.
At last, we have finally arrived at the time where Blue Dragon began to emerge. The week prior to its release, the hardware sales for the Xbox 360 in Japan was 4,400 consoles, which was the weekly average for the Xbox 360’s hardware sales at the time. When Blue Dragon was released, it raised the hardware sales to 37,800 consoles in the first week; sales then dropped to 18,000 consoles in the second week and maintained that average for four weeks in a row before dropping to 9,000 consoles; it then continued to drop from then on.
Meaning, not only is Blue Dragon the only JRPG title in the history of Microsoft in Japan that has managed to raise the hardware sales that high in the first week, but it is the only game, since Microsoft first arrived in Japan, that has managed to maintain a healthy hardware sale average of 18,000 consoles per week for four weeks in a row. To clarify, the installed base for the Xbox 360 in Japan jumped from 190,000 consoles to 314,000 consoles, in only five weeks! In other words, because of Blue Dragon, Microsoft has managed to sell 124,000 consoles in Japan, in under five weeks! That has never been replicated or accomplished in Japan ever again by any other game, including Star Ocean 4!
In fact, Star Ocean 4 only managed to sell 67,000 consoles in its first five weeks, and Microsoft only managed to sell 93,300 consoles in the first five weeks of the Xbox 360’s launch in Japan. To make things even more interesting, if we subtract the number of consoles sold in the first week (25,000 consoles) from the number of Star Ocean 4 copies sold in that first week (165,000 copies), we would have 140,000 as the approximate number of copies sold to the installed base of the Xbox 360 in Japan. Additionally, the fact that the installed base was 940,000 console owners, at the time the title was released, means that Star Ocean 4 has managed to break through to 14.8% of the Xbox 360’s installed base in Japan.
On the other Hand, if we subtract the number of consoles sold in the first week Blue Dragon arrived (37,000 consoles) from the number of Blue Dragon copies sold in the first week (83,000 copies), we would have 46,000 as the approximate number of copies sold to the installed base of the Xbox 360 in Japan. Moreover, the fact that the installed base was 190,000 console owners, at the time the title was released, means that Blue Dragon has managed to break through to 24% of the Xbox 360’s installed base in Japan! As a result, Blue Dragon has managed to outperform Star Ocean 4 in this department as well.
On a side note, it is important to point out that many journalists in the past had claimed that Blue Dragon had managed to break through to over 40% of the Xbox 360 installed base in Japan in the first week, which is not true. The only possible reason that they would make such a claim was to build excitement in their articles. They were misleading you under the assumption that you wouldn’t do your own research and prove them wrong.
Basically, all they did was state that the first week sales of Blue Dragon (83,000 copies) only came from the Xbox 360 installed base at the time, which obviously was not the case. They simply ignored the 37,000 gamers that purchased the console during that week assuming that they purchased the console for a reason other than Blue Dragon. In this case, they are claiming that from 190,000 Xbox 360 owners, 83,000 of them went out to buy the game. Consequently, that would mean that over 40% of Xbox 360 owners in Japan actually bought the game in the first week, which is absolutely incorrect. I hope this clears up any confusion regarding this matter.
However, in the first ten weeks, Blue Dragon had managed to sell 167,320 copies. Interestingly enough, by the end of these ten weeks, the Xbox 360 installed base in Japan grew to 340,000 console owners. Thus, it would be accurate to state that Blue Dragon has managed to break through to 49% of the Xbox 360 installed base in Japan within the first ten weeks of its release, and that is an incredible accomplishment that will never be repeated again by any other title!
Back to the topic at hand, I would like to point out that you can argue that one of the main selling points for Blue Dragon was the fact that the developer was the creator of the Final Fantasy franchise. In spite of that being true, that would still not be a strong enough reason for Blue Dragon to sell that well for five weeks in a row despite all the obstacles it had in its path. Lastly, if you still feel the need to defend Star Ocean 4, and still feel that Blue Dragon is not quite as special and impressive as I am stating it to be, the following observations might change your mind once and for all:
1) When Star Ocean 4 arrived in stores, Microsoft’s reputation had already gone through a dramatic makeover and Japanese gamers had finally begun embracing the Xbox 360 once and for all. On the other hand, when Blue Dragon came out, it was on a console that had a disappointing predecessor and was from a company that had a bad reputation from that predecessor.
2) When Star Ocean 4 was released, it was a popular franchise, from a known developer, and a beloved publisher. On the contrary, when Blue Dragon was out the door, it was a new franchise, from a newly-formed developer, and a publisher that Japanese gamers hated.
3) When Star Ocean 4 appeared in stores, the Xbox 360 had an installed base of 940,000 console owners, which makes it a lot easier to sell. In contrast, when Blue Dragon was launched, the Xbox 360 had an installed base of 190,000 console owners, which makes it quite a challenge to sell to such a small installed base.
4) When Star Ocean 4 came out, it had a large library of both Japanese games, in general, and big JRPG titles, specifically, to support it and give a strong incentive for gamers to buy it. However, when Blue Dragon was released, it was the first big JRPG title to be released in Japan, and therefore, had no big titles to support it, and no strong incentive for gamers to buy it. It had to face all the challenges alone and sell beyond what anyone had ever expected. Surprisingly, it did!
5) When Star Ocean 4 was launched, the price of the core model of the Xbox 360 was 19,800 yen ($183 USD), the premium 60 GB model that replaced the 20 GB model was 29,800 yen ($286 USD), and the Elite 120 GB model was 39,800 yen ($368 USD). On the other hand, when Blue Dragon appeared in stores, The price of the core model of the Xbox 360 was 29,000 yen ($297 USD), and the Premium 20 GB model was 39,795 yen ($407 USD). Therefore, the core is currently 9,200 yen ($94 USD) cheaper, and the Premium is currently 9,995 yen ($102 USD) cheaper with an extra 40 GB on the hard drive. To make things even more interesting, the current price of the Premium 60 GB model is similar to the previous price of the core model back then. Thus, price-wise, Star Ocean 4 is much more tempting now than Blue Dragon ever was back then.
6) When Star Ocean 4 was out the door, both the PS3 and the Wii had been on the market for over two years and the PS2 sales had been weak for over two years. In contrast, when Blue Dragon arrived, the PS2 was at its peak, the PS3 had been out for a month and had managed to sell over 197,000 consoles in Japan, and the Wii had just come out a week prior to Blue Dragon’s release, and had managed, in its first week, to sell over 360,000 consoles. Can you imagine going up against two Japanese consoles that had just launched recently in addition to the best selling console of all time? Can you imagine going up against two Japanese Juggernauts that were always loved and preferred by the Japanese gamers over anything else, and the colossus that is the PS2? Surprisingly, in an interesting twist of events, Blue Dragon stood its ground strong and proud, and pushed through each and every obstacle that stood in its way!
In summary, despite being a new IP, developed by a newly-formed developer, published by a company that Japanese gamers hate, on a console with a small installed base of 190,000 console owners, a weak game library, no big JRPG titles, and a high price, and released at a time when a last generation console was at its peak, and two next generation Japanese consoles, from two popular Japanese game companies, had just come out, Blue Dragon has managed to sell 35,000 copies in the first day, 83,000 copies in the first week, 210,000 copies overall in Japan, and 520,000 copies in total worldwide, raise the hardware sales to 37,800 consoles in the first week of release, maintain a healthy hardware sale average of over 18,000 consoles for four weeks in a row, move 124,000 consoles in the first five weeks of release, break through to 24% of the Xbox 360’s installed base, in Japan, in the first week, and break through to 49% of that installed base in the first ten weeks!
Therefore, I have come to the conclusion that what Blue Dragon has done for the Xbox 360 is something that no other Japanese title could have ever been able to do, which is exactly why Microsoft will never let this franchise go.
On a side note, if anyone was wondering about the famous September 2008 hardware marathon for the Xbox 360, with the combined help of both Tales of Vesperia and Infinite Undiscovery, starting with the week that Infinite Undiscovery was released, which was the 13th of September, and ending on the 11th of October, Microsoft only managed to sell 68,000 consoles in those five weeks. Surprisingly, those were the five weeks in which the Xbox 360 outsold the PS3 in every single week. Furthermore, the Xbox 360 continued to outsell the PS3 in every single week till the end of October; in other words, the Xbox 360 outsold the PS3 seven weeks in a row. In fact, the week Infinite Undiscovery was released was the week the Xbox 360 outsold the Wii for the first time in history!
As we near the end of this article, I will reveal to you a final quote from Sakaguchi. This quote is from the Spong interview that was conducted in December of 2006. When asked about his plans for Mistwalker’s future, he said: “We want to be a group that isn’t afraid to walk through the mist. That’s our objective. We want to walk where others haven’t, and with a spirit of adventure”. In truth, I believe that with Blue Dragon, this objective has already been met.
On a final side note, the reason I am writing such a long article is that readers deserve to read an article that is highly informative and extremely thorough at the same time; they deserve reading an article that is worth their time. I hope that has been accomplished through this article because that was my main objective.
In conclusion, I would like to state that Sakaguchi is a genius. The reason I am making this statement is that he knew that it would be difficult to break through to the Japanese market. He knew that most people thought it was impossible. To give him more reasons to hesitate, every single colleague probably advised him not to take that risk with Microsoft. Despite all that, he predicted that when a AAA exclusive Japanese RPG title comes out on the Xbox 360 in Japan, not only would that boost the sales of the console in Japan, but it would actually tempt other Japanese developers to start making exclusive JRPGs for the Xbox 360 as well. Against all odds, He was right!
He knew that the only thing these developers needed was a push and an example; they needed to see it in order to believe it; they needed to see that a JRPG can actually sell very well on the Xbox 360, especially in Japan. To their surprise, he gave them the push, and gave them the example.
JRPG Developers were afraid of the Xbox 360, and they had every right to be. After all, Microsoft only managed to sell 41,000 consoles on the day the Xbox 360 launched in Japan, 54,600 consoles by the end of the first week, and 85,000 consoles by the end of the first month. Can you really blame them?
However, all they needed was proof that the Xbox 360 would not be another disappointment, as its predecessor turned out to be. To everyone’s surprise, Blue Dragon was that proof, and Sakaguchi knew that even before it came out. He knew that Blue Dragon would be the key to unlocking the Japanese vault. He knew that because of this title, he would always be remembered as the definitive reason for the success of Microsoft in Japan, simply because he was the reason for all the Japanese developers, including the JRPG developers, finally deciding to embrace the Xbox 360 once and for all.
If the Xbox 360 were a Japanese garden, the first Blue Dragon would be magical soil, sprinkled by an immortal wizard, and all the JRPG titles that followed would be flowers that flourished due to that soil. Make no mistake, when Blue Dragon 2 does come out, it will be the most beautiful flower in that garden only because it would be showered by the wizard himself, that started it all,…..Hironobu Sakaguchi.
As for Microsoft in Japan, nothing will ever be the same again, only because one man decided to walk through the mist with Microsoft, against everyone’s advice, and succeeded in coming out the other side, only to be known for all eternity as………..the Mistwalker.
God Bless You Sakaguchi-san; this one’s for you.
Master Samo
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