Physical Japanese Exclusives on Xbox One | Every game which never saw a physical release in the west

Azito x Tatsunoko Legends

International Release: No

Digital Release: Yes

Ported Elsewhere: No

English: No

A weird game which is going to be hard for those who want to play in English as the game is rather text heavy. The game looks fine, ... recommend only if you're collecting for the console and looking for full, Xbox One exclusives or quirky games if you're familiar with Japanese.

Chaos Child

International Release: Yes

Digital Release: Yes

Ported Elsewhere: Yes

English: No

Initially a timed exclusive, Chaos Child was part of Microsoft's early push to target the Japanese market. The game doesn't have English option, so is more of a curiosity to own. If you do fancy playing this, the game was ported everywhere, starting with PS3/PS4 and Vita 6 months after the Xbox release with English. 

Occultic ; Nine

International Release: No

Digital Release: Yes

Ported Elsewhere: Yes

English: No

I'm not even going to pretend I have played this game. This is another visual novel game which is still locked to Japan. If you do fancy picking this up, the PlayStation 4 and Vita versions have a limited edition which comes with a CD, though you're going to need to know Japanese to get anything from it.

Psycho-Pass: Sentaku Naki Koufuku

International Release: Yes

Digital Release: Yes

Ported Elsewhere: Yes

English: No

Much like Chaos Child, Psycho Pass is another visual novel which launched exclusively on Xbox nearly a full year before it got released on other platforms. Once again, it's more of a curio than anything else at this point, as you can play this on other platforms and PC fully in English.

Puyo Puyo Tetris

International Release: Yes

Digital Release: Yes

Ported Elsewhere: Yes

English: No

If you've not played Puyo Puyo Tetris, you should, it's an excellent little game. This isn't the best way to go as the game was ported everywhere with English physical editions both on Switch and PS4. It should play fine, you may just not understand part of the "story". The sequel did release on Xbox One with a S/X upgrade.

Raiden V

International Release: Yes

Digital Release: Yes

Ported Elsewhere: No

English: No

For a while, it looked like the next Raiden game would be locked to Xbox and a digital release launched a few months later in the west. You're better off getting the Director's Cut, launched nearly 2 years later digitally with a PS4 physical. If you want the original, this is the only physical version available, so has some value to owning.

Senkgokushi 13

International Release: No

Digital Release: Yes

Ported Elsewhere: Yes

English: No

Known as Romance of the Three Kingdoms in the west, Japan saw an exclusive physical release for Xbox. Without Japanese, be warned, this is going to be pretty unplayable. It released digital and on other platforms in English, and if you want to bag an English physical copy, there's a PS4 release if you're interested. 

Shiin

International Release: No

Digital Release: Yes

Ported Elsewhere: Yes

English: No

Shiin, which also goes by Spirit Hunter: Death Mark, is the last visual novel exclusive released exclusively in Japan. Unlike the others, the Xbox was the last version to be released aside from a PC release. English versions of the game released shortly after the Japanese release on Xbox, so that would be the best way to go. 

Stranger of Sword City

International Release: Yes

Digital Release: Yes

Ported Elsewhere: Yes

English: Yes

This last game on the list is a first-person, dungeon crawler. Originally an Xbox 360 Japanese exclusive, it was later ported to Xbox One then to PC and Vita months later. It's worth a go and you can with as it saw an English digital release. If you want the Xbox One physical version, the Japanese release is the only way to go.

The Earily Similar Situation of Xbox Series X/S and Dreamcast

Look, I know this isn't very original and it's not the first time this comparison has been made, but stick with me here. I have been digging a lot into the history of  the Dreamcast for some time now and what I keep finding is how similar some of Sega's moves are to Microsoft with Xbox. So I am going to be comparing the current situation and market strategy of the Xbox right now with the Dreamcast prior to it's discontinuation. Looking at both consoles whilst they're still on the market may help give some context to some of the moves Xbox have been making. As you may hopefully see, there are some similarities to be seen.

Jet Set Radio Future Pre-Release | Early look into early development of the game

 Early Look is a series dedicated to looking at games long before they came out. This month is dedicated to Jet Set Radio Future and the coverage it gained over a year ahead of its Japanese release on 22nd February 2002. The game's development is truly a fascinating story and a great insight into one of Sega's most beloved titles.  

The game was originally planned for an Autumn 2001 release. 

PS3 Demo Disc Collection | Playable games which are now unobtainable

The UK Official PlayStation magazine (OPM) was the only PS3 based magazine that handed out game demos distributed via Blu-Ray. Many other magazines couldn't afford to use Blu-Ray discs such as PSW (Playstation World) and PSM3, both opting instead to use double-sided DVD's which they tried to make up for with their list of videos, themes, pictures, save files and more. 

What makes these particular demo discs even more interesting is the fact that only the UK and some selected European countries (from my knowledge) had exclusive access to these demo discs from their regional official magazine. Finding any information on what is contained on these discs is impossible due to the limited appeal, regional exclusivity and just a lack of coverage in general.

So it's time to scour through my complete collection of these discs and find out what's on them. Here's the list of games that you will never be able to get access to ever again and which never saw a PC release. Officially of course...

Sega's Lost Arcade Game - Jet Squad | Did it ever exist?

I'm a huge fan of lost media, the fact that something got released, or was shown in some capacity only to disappear forever is fascinating to me. There's a huge list of games which we're all well aware of, however one I had not heard of until recently was Jet Squadron by Sega. It's featured in a few YouTube videos after a post on Lost Media Wiki surfaced details it's partial existence. A Sega game? Shown in the Year 2000?  Sign me up

That time when Dreamcast outsold Xbox in Japan

Just a fun little story that captured a few headlines for a short period of time. For a brand new console that hit Japan, it's amazing to think just a short while later the now obsolete Dreamcast would be shifting more of it's left over stock than Microsoft's newest console...

Sega Saturn on PS1? | Sega's plans which never were

When Sega shocked the world by going third party, we all knew what this meant - Dreamcast games on competitors consoles, but Saturn games on PS One?...