Looking to gain a stronger foothold in Japan, Microsoft's Xbox division said today it has hired Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of the "Final Fantasy" franchise, to develop two games exclusively for the next-generation Xbox console," reports The Seattle Times.
"Sakaguchi and his studio will create two role-playing video games, which will be published by Microsoft Game Studios and released to the Japanese market. Microsoft would not say what the games would be or when they will be released.
"The Xbox has not become the success in Japan that Microsoft had hoped for. The company has only sold 1.7 million Xbox consoles in Asia, compared with 13.2 million sold in North America and 5 million in Europe. The company has not given a breakdown of Japan-specific sales."
