Microsoft is betting that Mena Kato — a PlayStation veteran who grew up playing Nintendo classics like Donkey Kong — will help it finally drive a wedge into the world’s No. 3 gaming market.
Over two decades Kato helped build Sony Group’s console into a dominant presence in the games industry with PlayStation. Since July, she’s taken on a far more daunting task: selling the Xbox to studios who swear by Sony and Nintendo. She’s counting on her dealmaking skills, Microsoft’s global reach and her own local connections to finally make the Xbox a relevant player.
Microsoft’s new director of Japan partnerships is trying to reverse years of failure. Market researcher Famitsu estimates that Xbox has sold just over 500,000 units of its latest consoles in Japan, far fewer than Nintendo’s 31 million Switch sales or the PlayStation 5’s 4.8 million units. But she still sees room for a third player to grow.