Xbox isn't worth a port for small Japanese studios, says RPG dev, since the console isn't even sold in most local retailers

A Japanese developer says smaller companies can't really afford to make Xbox ports due to the lack of regional demand for the console.

The developer – who goes by y_koichi – was previously in charge of character modeling on developer Edelweiss' 2020 game Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin, and recently teased on Twitter that Sakuna 2 will eventually come out one day. A fan then asked about the possibility of an Xbox port (via TechRadar), since the original game skipped the platform. But while Koichi notes they've had a strong sentimental attachment to Xbox consoles since the original, for a company as small as Edelweiss, it's not worth it.

An Xbox port would require Edelweiss devs to spread themselves too thin. The developer also notes that, in Japan, Xbox consoles aren't stocked in major retail stores, further driving the point home that it may be tough to justify bringing a Sakuna game to the platform. After multiple replies questioning this, and asking the developer to please find some way to bring the game to the Xbox, Koichi posted another tweet saying that Xbox fans are a very passionate bunch.

Xbox has historically had issues breaking through to the Japanese market, with the Wii U – one of Nintendo's biggest failures – having sold more than every Xbox console in the region, both individually and combined (per data from Japanese magazine Famitsu). Microsoft's best run was with the Xbox 360, selling just over 1.6 million consoles, which could be pegged to investments Microsoft made in that generation with the likes of Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon, and Tales of Vesperia, all big exclusives for the console.

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