Posted on May 28, 2022
Xbox promotes Asian characters and creators amid calls for greater diversity in games
906
4
1
4
4
0
https://www.npr.org/2022/05/27/ [login to see] /microsoft-xbox-asian-representation
Asian characters have a long history in video games, thanks to Japanese giants like Nintendo and Sony. Now, US-based Microsoft is taking pains to acquire, promote, and create more games with Asian characters — as the industry responds to increased calls for diverse representation.
The move fits in with Microsoft's larger strategy to acquire new content and expand their global reach. The company has been on a spending spree, buying up game companies to broaden their roster on services like the subscription-based Xbox Game Pass. Earlier this year, Microsoft purchased the beleaguered Activision Blizzard. Back in 2020, it absorbed Skyrim publisher Bethesda. The Xbox brand now boasts a more diverse lineup of games than ever before, both in terms of genre as well as representation.
Asian characters have a long history in video games, thanks to Japanese giants like Nintendo and Sony. Now, US-based Microsoft is taking pains to acquire, promote, and create more games with Asian characters — as the industry responds to increased calls for diverse representation.
The move fits in with Microsoft's larger strategy to acquire new content and expand their global reach. The company has been on a spending spree, buying up game companies to broaden their roster on services like the subscription-based Xbox Game Pass. Earlier this year, Microsoft purchased the beleaguered Activision Blizzard. Back in 2020, it absorbed Skyrim publisher Bethesda. The Xbox brand now boasts a more diverse lineup of games than ever before, both in terms of genre as well as representation.
Xbox promotes Asian characters and creators amid calls for greater diversity in games
Posted from npr.org
Diversity
Video Games
Japan
Microsoft
Posted 2 y ago
Responses: 1
0
0
0
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Expanding diversity and competing in the Asian market
Ada Duan, Xbox's general manager of social impact and partnerships, is at the forefront of the gaming industry's efforts to bring more authentic representation to the medium. "Having been in the gaming industry for over 15 years, it is exciting for me to see the increasing diversity of Asian and Pacific Islander creators and the breadth of cultural influences that they bring to the games they make," Duan explains.
All of Xbox's first-party titles, including Prey and the upcoming Redfall, are included in Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft's gaming subscription service, which also curates titles from third-party publishers like Life is Strange: True Colors. That game follows empath Alex Chen, the first Asian American to headline the franchise. Xbox has also given a bigger platform to indie games with diverse settings as well, from the Singapore-based Chinatown Detective Agency to the Kurosawa-inspired Trek to Yomi.
For Xbox, expanding representation makes business sense, Duan says. "Our catalog will continue to grow with all the needs of our global gamers in mind," she says. "Taking into account local language needs, game style preferences and cultural considerations."
That includes breaking into Asian gaming markets, particularly in Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Just this month, they even made significant inroads in Japan, the home of rivals Nintendo and Sony. Xbox has been partnering with developers through local gaming events and workshops in order to get their games in front of more players, and into the Microsoft corporate fold.
For Microsoft, growing an Asian presence on-screen and behind the scenes is both a matter of representation and part of their effort to capture more of the gaming market. As Duan put it: "We continue to champion greater diversity in the games we make, including characters and storylines, as we look to reach the 3 billion gamers on the planet."
..."Expanding diversity and competing in the Asian market
Ada Duan, Xbox's general manager of social impact and partnerships, is at the forefront of the gaming industry's efforts to bring more authentic representation to the medium. "Having been in the gaming industry for over 15 years, it is exciting for me to see the increasing diversity of Asian and Pacific Islander creators and the breadth of cultural influences that they bring to the games they make," Duan explains.
All of Xbox's first-party titles, including Prey and the upcoming Redfall, are included in Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft's gaming subscription service, which also curates titles from third-party publishers like Life is Strange: True Colors. That game follows empath Alex Chen, the first Asian American to headline the franchise. Xbox has also given a bigger platform to indie games with diverse settings as well, from the Singapore-based Chinatown Detective Agency to the Kurosawa-inspired Trek to Yomi.
For Xbox, expanding representation makes business sense, Duan says. "Our catalog will continue to grow with all the needs of our global gamers in mind," she says. "Taking into account local language needs, game style preferences and cultural considerations."
That includes breaking into Asian gaming markets, particularly in Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Just this month, they even made significant inroads in Japan, the home of rivals Nintendo and Sony. Xbox has been partnering with developers through local gaming events and workshops in order to get their games in front of more players, and into the Microsoft corporate fold.
For Microsoft, growing an Asian presence on-screen and behind the scenes is both a matter of representation and part of their effort to capture more of the gaming market. As Duan put it: "We continue to champion greater diversity in the games we make, including characters and storylines, as we look to reach the 3 billion gamers on the planet."
(0)
(0)
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google