How's My Driving: Xbox 360 Pros and Cons - Pros I: Developer Support: Features

Developers are cozying up the the 360 far quick than they did to the original Xbox.

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Pros I: Far More Developer Support Out of the Gate

If there was any one thing that hurt the original Xbox early in its lifetime, it was the skewed developer support. There were plenty of Western developers onboard early on, and those numbers swelled over time. However, getting the juggernauts from the Far East to make games for the console proved much more difficult for Microsoft. At first, the games from Japanese developers largely felt like slapped together throwaways, with Team Ninja being the only exception, releasing high-quality games like the Dead or Alive series for the Xbox (not to mention Tomonobu Itagaki’s extremely vocal support for the console). However, by and large there just wasn’t the same level of Japanese support for the Xbox as one could find for the system’s biggest competitor, the PlayStation 2.

(Left) Capcom is bringing one of their most popular franchises to the Xbox 360 with Biohazard 5; (Right) Square-Enix is also supporting the new console with a port of their MMORPG Final Fantasy XI

Over time, though, we started to see more and more companies make a decent effort in creating games for the Xbox, as Namco, Capcom, and Konami started to port various titles to it. Now that we’re getting closer and closer to the launch of the Xbox 360, it’s becoming apparent that Microsoft has been working to nurture these relationships, resulting in the 360 getting some exclusive titles from the major Japanese publishers (like Namco’s Frame City Killer), as well as installments from long-running triple A franchises (such as Capcom’s recent announcement to bring Biohazard 5 to the system). On top of this, fresh, new companies are stepping up

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to support the 360, like Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi’s Mistwalker Studios (where two new RPGs are currently in development), and Tetsuya Mizuguchi’s Q Entertainment is working on the much-anticipated Ninety-Nine Nights. Hell, even Square-Enix has announced they’re supporting the 360, albeit with an almost two-year-old game, but it’s a foot in the door that could lead to more 360 games from the RPG powerhouse in the future.

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Konami's Rumble Roses XX (Left) ; Q Entertainment's Ninety-Nine Nights (Center) ; Mistwalker's Lost Odyssey (Right)

While there’s no denying that the overall influence of Japanese videogame developers has waned in recent years, as Western developers hit there stride, this in no way negates the fact that games made in Japan are a crucial part of a console's library, and Microsoft knows this. By convincing more publishers from the far side of the Pacific to support the 360, Microsoft is ensuring that their library stays far better rounded. Games like Halo, Fable, Forza, and Madden are great for attracting people to a system, but there are still plenty of other folks out there that would much rather be playing Resident Evil, Metal Gear Solid, or Final Fantasy. Over the life of the Xbox, Microsoft started to make the inroads for Japanese support, and now with their next system it looks like it may finally be paying off.

>> On to the "Promising Release Schedule" >>


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