A letter to Xbox Team

Dear Xbox Team,

I'm convinced you neither understand nor care what core gamers want from the Xbox platform, from the brief success of Kinect and the subsequent launch of Xbox One to the present day.

I understand your desire to attract a wider audience over core gamers. This is a business, and building a solid revenue base is a natural goal.

However, you need to realize that Xbox has reached its current position, from the original Xbox to the current Xbox Series X/S generation, by stepping on the blood-stained stairs built by Xbox's core fan

Here, "blood-stained stairs" refers to the money users painstakingly earned and spent, and the emotional pain they endured each time they were disappointed by the Xbox platform. Has the Xbox Team ever considered them?

The reason I'm writing this letter is the cancellation of sales of CITY CONNECTION CO. LTD.'s "STEAM-HEART'S Saturn Tribute" and "ADVANCED V.G. Saturn Tribute" on Xbox, despite being slated for release on all modern platforms.

Previously, INTI CREATES CO. LTD.'s "Gal*Gun Returns" was also canceled for sale only on Xbox. Gal*Gun started on Xbox 360, and its return to Xbox as a remake held great significance. However, Microsoft and the Xbox Team ruined everything by demanding strong regulations on the game. I am now incredibly angry at myself for not speaking up then.

The case of "STEAM-HEART'S" and "ADVANCED V.G." is similar. The Sega Saturn versions, which these ports are based on, were released at a time when Japan did not yet have the CERO rating system, and each platform conducted its own review. While partially modified, they generally included sexual content.

Currently, the CERO rating system exists, and these two games were significantly modified to reach as many users as possible. However, just like with "Gal*Gun," Microsoft and the Xbox Team demanded even more modifications. As a result, CITY CONNECTION, like INTI CREATIONS, chose to cancel the Xbox platform release to avoid the confusion of providing a different experience on a specific console.

Congratulations. You've done it again. Thanks to you, I will now be purchasing titles I intended to buy on Xbox on other platforms. I believe there are far more titles you've 'abandoned' in this manner than I'm aware of. And at the same time, you've abandoned your users, your passionate Xbox fans.

Recently, Xbox has been expanding its reach with Game Pass and Cloud Gaming, and even games that were once Xbox platform exclusives are now being released on other companies' consoles – an unprecedented move. I believe this will ultimately succeed, and I do not oppose this expansion to make all devices owned by people (including other companies' game consoles) part of the 'Xbox ecosystem.'

However, the coercive regulation that Microsoft and Xbox are imposing on third-party games is very bad. This is an infringement on freedom of creation and expression, and it is a situation where you are forcing regulations beyond the ratings acknowledged by ESRB, CERO, IARC, etc. Your sole basis for this tyranny is simply that you are the Xbox platform holder.

In the past, Xbox was not such a platform, and PlayStation was notorious in that regard. Nintendo of America during the NES/SNES era was even worse, and in the US, the SNES fell behind the Sega Genesis. Do you wish to become a tyrant like Nintendo of America of that era?

You are alienating the gamers who have long 'blood-donated' to the Xbox platform in your pursuit of expanding into the general public market. Perhaps, once you achieve a large revenue base, you may believe that 'core gamers are not necessary for our business,' despite their past contributions. But consider this carefully: Is that the right direction?

For a platform where everyone can enjoy games, 'everyone' must include core gamers. If games promoting family-friendly and wholesome values exist, then games on the opposite spectrum should also exist. This is why I criticized Nintendo of America in the past, and I still hold the same view regarding PlayStation. I have always believed Xbox to be the console platform with the most freedom of expression, and I am deeply disappointed that you are directly showing me that this is not the case.

I believe there's a very high probability that this letter will not reach you, or will be left unread, or even if read, will be dismissed. My disappointment with the Xbox platform has reached this level, and I believe many long-time Xbox fans feel the same way.

If you have read this far, I sincerely thank you. And if you have read it, please respond in some form. The best response would be if the games I mentioned were released for sale even now, but at this point, I have no expectations from you.

However, even if Xbox is currently on a path close to infinite success, I want you to know that I am deeply concerned about the issues I am raising in this letter.

:)