Xbox Japan management reshuffled

[one]

The ex-Square USA guy, Mr. Maruyama, who was hired to oversee the Xbox division and Xbox 360 at Microsoft Japan after his predecessor was relegated to another division because of the failure of Xbox in Japan, has been demoted in record time.

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2006/feb06/02-15JapanXboxGMPR.mspx

Takashi Sensui Named General Manager of Microsoft’s Xbox Division in Japan
Experienced games executive to lead Xbox 360 post-launch efforts in Japan.

TOKYO — Feb. 16, 2006 — Microsoft today announced the promotion of Mr. Takashi Sensui to the position of general manager of the Xbox Division for Microsoft Co. Ltd. (Microsoft Japan). He succeeds Mr. Yoshihiro Maruyama, who has been appointed to a strategic position within Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices Division.

 

[Inane_Dork]

Yeah, that sucked. If he really was to blame for some of the mess, maybe he deserved it.

 

[blakjedi]

MS US was to blame. their whole launch strategy was wrong IMHO. It came from the top not from Mr. Maruyama

 

[expletive]

MS US was to blame. their whole launch strategy was wrong IMHO. It came from the top not from Mr. Maruyama

You mean the strategy of having none of the games ready for launch?

Seriously though, whoever didnt have their finger on the pulse of games development is the one who should take the fall. If it was this guy, then so be it.

 

[Serenity Painted Death]

Over/Under on this guy getting the same treatment?

I'd say his job depends on Blue Dragon.

Such a hopeless position to be in.

 

[Nicked]

Marketing director? Jeez.

So the new management is the guy who greenlighted the "High Definition" focus from marketing...he'll fit in well with a running tally of inept Xbox JP managers.

(High Definition = Hi-Vision in Japan, so it naturally confused the fuck out of everyone)

They should just send one of the managers of Xbox NA. Those guys would get the job done, or at least not help screw up.

 

[drpepper]

What was he supposed to do? the deployment of games at launch was up to the developers not Maruyama. I think he did all that he could do with the cards he was dealt with. It didn't make his job any easier when MS decided to launch way early. If MS delayed their launch til early 06 i think MS would be avoiding all the scrutiny they're getting right now.

I think this was not a move to specifically demote him on his performance but to tell the rest of the team to wake up.

 

[London Geezer]

What was he supposed to do? the deployment of games at launch was up to the developers not Maruyama....

Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "what the hell have they been smoking?!"

 

[Dr. Nick]

. If MS delayed their launch til early 06 i think MS would be avoiding all the scrutiny they're getting right now.

Yep, they should have delayed the Japanese launch at least to the end of this month but there is nothing they can do about that now. I just hope that this is really for the best in Japan not just Microsoft getting impatient and switching management. What Maruyama had going was building a strong Japanese library of games that just weren't going to help out in the near term but would have helped as time went by. I hope this does not jeopardize what they had going for them.

 

[one]

They should just send one of the managers of Xbox NA. Those guys would get the job done, or at least not help screw up.

Well the predecessor of Mr. Maruyama is this guy sent from MS HQ.
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/game/docs/20030724/xbox02.htm
The pre-predecessor of Mr. Maruyama was a Japanese MS executive but also relegated nowhere quickly after the original Xbox launch.
The new guy, Mr. Sensui, is on the left in this pic.
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/game/docs/20030724/xbox12.htm

 

[drpepper]

What's really interesting is, it was Mr. Maruyama who convinced Sakaguchi to focus on the 360. I remember from an interview that they both trusted each other. And Mr. Maruyama was also the architect that enabled all/ if not most of the Japanese support for the 360. I wonder how this affects the developers relationships with MS.

 

[Jabjabs]

About that only thing that MS did wrong in Japan was being an american company with a machine that doesn't have enough software support in japan.

 

[Nicked]

About that only thing that MS did wrong in Japan was being an american company with a machine that doesn't have enough software support in japan.

Yep, that marketing campaign was great.

>>>MS: ENJOY HIGH-DEFINITION GAMING ON THE NEW XBOX360!!
>>>JPN: wtf is high definition?!
>>>[...]
>>>MS: why isn't our console selling again?!

Software is alot to do with it, you're right, but being American has little to do with it. Believe it or not the majority of the 130M citizens aren't xenophobic.

Well the predecessor of Mr. Maruyama is this guy sent from MS HQ.
http://www.watch.impress.co.jp/game/...724/xbox02.htm

THEY NEED ALLARD!

 

[Dr. Nick]

What's really interesting is, it was Mr. Maruyama who convinced Sakaguchi to focus on the 360. I remember from an interview that they both trusted each other. And Mr. Maruyama was also the architect that enabled all/ if not most of the Japanese support for the 360. I wonder how this affects the developers relationships with MS.

Yeah, that kind of has me worried. All the Japanese game annoucements in the near future he is responsable beyond that games may very well dry up just like last time.

 

[drpepper]

Yeah, that kind of has me worried. All the Japanese game annoucements in the near future he is responsable beyond that games may very well dry up just like last time.

Well, I think the new guy will pick up where his predecessor left off. But does he have the same relationships with the developers is the real question. Time will tell.

 

[expletive]

What's really interesting is, it was Mr. Maruyama who convinced Sakaguchi to focus on the 360. I remember from an interview that they both trusted each other. And Mr. Maruyama was also the architect that enabled all/ if not most of the Japanese support for the 360. I wonder how this affects the developers relationships with MS.

Its not like he's been fired, he has a different role now. I didnt get the indication from any of the announcements that he wouldnt still eb able to influence new Japanese developers or cultivate existing relationships.

THEY NEED ALLARD!

Is it me or has Allard become almost invisible since the launch? Did i miss something? Since the launch its been Peter Moore this and Peter Moore that but no JA.

 

[Sis]

Yep, that marketing campaign was great.

>>>MS: ENJOY HIGH-DEFINITION GAMING ON THE NEW XBOX360!!
>>>JPN: wtf is high definition?!
>>>[...]
>>>MS: why isn't our console selling again?!

Software is alot to do with it, you're right, but being American has little to do with it. Believe it or not the majority of the 130M citizens aren't xenophobic.

The whole HD thing is silly. My understanding is that it's not the well known term but also MS is not alone is using the incorrect slang. If that's true, someone needs to explain why it works for these other companies and not for MS.

The xenophobe thing is even worse since it twists the debate into a polarized discussion in which emotion plays a bigger role than facts. I happen to strongly disagree with the point of view that Japan doesn't buy the Xbox because of nationalistic reasons since we have counter examples to prove it, such as Apple's iPod and Microsoft's own software success. Dropping the "xenophobe" label is the quickest way to escalate the debate past rational discussion.

My view is that MS can't sell the Xbox 360 for a very simple reason: it's not something the Japanese public wants. I think it has been marketed incorrectly but not because of the HD terminology thing but because of HD in general--it focuses on the technology and not the games. Of which there's a severe shortage of them. And as far as I know, the MS marketing in Japan did little to play up the Xbox Live Arcade system, which given the huge support for portable gaming, one would think there'd be a natural tie-in.

 

[pipo]

Is it me or has Allard become almost invisible since the launch? Did i miss something? Since the launch its been Peter Moore this and Peter Moore that but no JA.

I bet he's working to get XNA out the door.

 

[drpepper]

Its not like he's been fired, he has a different role now. I didnt get the indication from any of the announcements that he wouldnt still eb able to influence new Japanese developers or cultivate existing relationships.

But his role has been severly diminished, his successor has yet to prove that he can gain the hearts and minds of the Japanese developers.

 

[scooby_dooby]

Well I think something had to be done, you can't blame the guy if they forced him to launch, but if he was the one who, despite knowing about all their big titles being delayed, decided to launch anyways, then he gots ta go.

Imagine if they had've delayed it till April, give itagaki an extra 4 months time with the dev kit, had enchant arm, n3, rumble roses, chromehounds, doa4 all at launch, would've been much better. I think DOA could've made a much bigger impact if it actually looked truly next-gen.