All morning I was dreading interviewing Japan Xbox boss, Yoshihiro Maruyama. I've never read or heard bad things about him so I'm not exactly sure why I was gun shy. Microsoft Japan seems aggressive, so perhaps I was expecting someone like Steve Balmer to chew me a new one.

The interview took place in a hotel suite, bathed in sunlight. Through the huge window, boats could be seen passing into the harbor.

Next to the window, sat a tan and fit Maruyama-san.

Steve Balmer, he is not. The guy totally won me over with his frankness. If the 'Soft succeeds in Japan, this is the guy to thank. If not, well.

MARUYAMA: "We know that the winner in the game business has changed once from Nintendo. I witnessed the change. So when Sega Saturn came and when PlayStation came, many people thought Nintendo was going to take them out. But, it didn't happen. Sony took the market away from them and everybody else.

When I first joined [the game industry], I joined Square Soft, which was the strongest supporter of the Nintendo console. They switched from Nintendo to Sony one hundred percent. The landslide just started there.

The business is not exactly the same as ten years ago, so I don't think we can replicate Sony's success. I think once we convince people there is a compelling gaming experience available on the 360 and that we are here to stay, then we can go to a few million install base. Then to three million, to five million.

Simply coming early doesn't guarantee success. Many people think coming early is an advantage, and my answer is yes. But, it won't be enough. Sega came to the market like 15 months earlier than PlayStation 2 came to the Japanese market. By. the time PlayStation 2 came out, the install base for the Sega Dreamcast was 1.5 million. Sony reached the same install base by the end of the first month. The Sega lesson is that coming early won't guarentee success unless you keep supplying compelling content."

KOTAKU: "Is that where Sega failed?"

MARUYAMA: "The Sega model was much similar to the Sony model, which relies on third party support. But in Sega's case, their first party material was a little stronger than Sony's. So in designing their business model, they paid more attention to the first party material.

We cannot launch our console without having first party material. We have to be able to demonstration that we have a compelling first party line-up.

My approach is much similar to what Sony did for their PlayStation 1. We want to offer a very compelling business model to the third party publishers in Japan. My business model is very similar to what Sony did eleven, twelve years ago in Japan."

Microsoft Bites Japanese Gamers
Microsoft Attacks Japanese Gamers