Mena Kato is a PlayStation veteran who previously worked with the company for eight years as vice president of business development, and helped create the PlayStation we know today.
Now however she’s on the other side of the aisle, working at Xbox as its director of Japan partnerships, helping shape a new image for Xbox in a country that has historically been dominated by PlayStation and Nintendo.
She’s of course trying to change that, and in a recent interview spoke to the possibilities that, for developers specifically, having a friend in Xbox and Microsoft could open up.
“Japanese publishers will definitely need us in expanding their business, it would be difficult to do that just with the PlayStation.”
VGChartz's Lee Mehr: "While not carrying the same heft it enjoyed long ago, last year was one of the adventure genre's most commercially-successful years in this century. A Telltale-esque adventure eclipsing 3 million sales in three months would be the talk of the town were it not for another adventure game hurdling over 10 million sales in two. Though not all finalists reached those heights, each did share a greater amount of spotlight compared to similar titles within their respective sub-genres.
Past any sales thresholds and popularity contests, 2025 also deserves credit for its creativity; the last time our entire shortlist consisted exclusively of new IPs was for Best Adventure Game of 2020. An impressive year for the genre, with even greater potential ahead."
Speed Factor throws players straight into a neon-lit highway of nostalgia, where punk rock riffs and pixel-perfect visuals collide in a furious symphony of speed. Inspired by the golden age of 80s and 90s arcade racers, this game invites you to tear through 50 diverse tracks across five vibrant locations, each brimming with retro flair. From customising traction assists to upgrading classic rides, Speed Factor is more than a race; it’s an adrenaline-fueled journey through the heart of arcade rebellion, demanding both skill and swagger from every driver who dares to take the wheel.
Today, Bungie premiered its “Developer Insights | Runner Shells” video of their PvPvE survival extraction FPS Marathon.
The Series has done significantly better in JP than the XBO ever did. I can see it getting a bit more support but nowhere near as much as the 360 did over there. It passed the og XB in less time over there as well to become the 2nd best selling XB platform.
In the West. Not in Japan, though.
I was interested to see what she had to say, then I read. She's an employee from Microsoft. Of course she's gonna say that. Tbh though I'm alright with xbox making some kinda headway in Japan. That means maybe we can get more Japanese type of games out of it. Especially if those games are jrpgs
"not just playstation"
girl, nintendo is also there. ha.
xbox has this weird narrative, still, that theres just playstation haha.
How much do you guys think Microsoft paid to get Phil Spencer on stage with Square/Enix?