Xbox signs up video game legend

Microsoft has enlisted Hironobu Sakaguchi, credited with creating the legendary “Final Fantasy” series of role-playing video games, to make two games for the next Xbox game console, the company said Thursday.

Microsoft offered few details on the games, other than to say they were role-playing titles already under development by Sakaguchi’s studio, Mistwalker.

The current-generation Xbox struggled in Japan from the very start, a problem blamed on a lack of games that appeal to the market. Sakaguchi would help change that, Microsoft said.

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“It’s quite frankly a mistake we don’t intend to make twice,” said Peter Moore, corporate vice president for worldwide Xbox marketing and publishing, in an interview. “(We’re) very excited to have a developer of his stature, a true rock star in the industry.”

Microsoft has not said when it will release the next version of its Xbox console, although the games industry almost universally expects the new hardware this holiday season.

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Microsoft is not acquiring Sakaguchi’s studio, but is funding the development of the games and providing resources to him from Microsoft Game Studios, Moore said.

He added more details would be revealed in the next few months. The industry will gather in Los Angeles in May for E3, its annual trade show, and again in September for the Tokyo Game Show.