August 24^th, 2005 (1:37pm) - In an interview conducted with IGN.com, Nintendo’s Perrin Kaplan spoke about the chances of the Xbox 360 in Japan, claiming that "Xbox has no recognition at all in Japan," and that "very few people are aware of or anticipating Xbox 2 at this point."

In an effort to strengthen the appeal of the Xbox brand in Japan, Microsoft has signed a number of original Japanese developers to create content for the Xbox 360. These developers will be contributing such original game properties as Blue Dragon and Ninety-Nine Nights, and some better known game franchises such as Ridge Racer, Dynasty Warriors, and a port of the PlayStation 2 and PC MMORPG, Final Fantasy XI. However, despite these efforts, Kaplan does not believe that these deals Microsoft have arranged are enough to make the Xbox 360 successful in Japan and are less important than they seem since they will not be bringing any major franchises to the table, such as a Dragon Quest game or a true instalment in the Final Fantasy series. The online videogame market has not taken off in Japan as it has in other parts of the world, so Final Fantasy XI for the Xbox 360 is expected to have a minor impact on hardware sales, if any.

"Microsoft has had no success in the Japanese market and they were required to attract such developers in order to have a chance in the market," she said. "Further, those developers won’t be making software for that system that are currently known and loved on other systems, such as Kirby."

Kaplan expects Japan to continue being "a very successful and profitable marker for Nintendo," and expects the current trend to "be true for the indefinite future."

While the Japanese video game market may be in a slump of sorts, Kaplan believes it wiser to assume that "it’s changing." These changes are being experienced by all Japanese game developers and video game publishers, and Kaplan believes that the portable arena "remains vibrant."

In regards to Nintendo’s largest and most important competitor, Sony, Ms. Kaplan says that Nintendo respects Sony’s efforts in the industry, saying that by launching the PlayStation 2 before it’s competitors and offering the quality and amount of games that it does, is what has made the PS2 such a tremendous success.

"Launching early in the Japanese market has been the key to success for Sony’s PlayStation 2," Kaplan told IGN. "Their early launch date and marketing push along with a solid library of games gave them momentum that they still enjoy today."

Speaking lightly about Nintendo’s next generation game console, the Revolution, Kaplan mentioned that it’s "too early for Nintendo to discuss our strategy for Revolution." Even though it is possible that it may be the last next generation game console out of the gate, Kaplan said that Nintendo has plenty "experience running a successful global video game company, and Nintendo will come to the dance extremely well dressed."