{"id":44775,"date":"2025-02-26T10:52:02","date_gmt":"2025-02-26T01:52:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=44775"},"modified":"2025-02-27T10:54:03","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T01:54:03","slug":"interview-tokyo-xtreme-racer-is-selling-like-hot-cakes-thanks-to-an-ip-name-more-powerful-than-any-marketing-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/interviews\/interview-tokyo-xtreme-racer-is-selling-like-hot-cakes-thanks-to-an-ip-name-more-powerful-than-any-marketing-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview: Tokyo Xtreme Racer is selling like hot cakes thanks to an IP name more powerful than any marketing strategy. We talk to Genki about the successful Early Access launch\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Genki released <strong>Tokyo Xtreme Racer<\/strong> in Early Access on January 23, marking the long-running racing series\u2019 first full-fledged comeback in 18 years. The game is available on <a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/2634950\/Tokyo_Xtreme_Racer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Steam<\/a>, with the Early Access version priced at $29.99.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bringing back familiar features like the SP Battle system, the brand-new Tokyo Xtreme Racer lets players race along the meticulously recreated Tokyo Expressway in a good old, single-player fashion. At the time of writing, Tokyo Xtreme Racer has an Overwhelmingly Positive status on Steam, with 95% of 8,470 player reviews being positive.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Following on from the <a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/interviews\/interview-tokyo-xtreme-racers-big-comeback-after-18-years-was-fueled-by-the-booming-popularity-of-japanese-cars-in-the-real-life-car-scene\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">first part of the interview<\/a> with Tokyo Xtreme Racer\u2019s producer Noguchi Kentaro, Genki\u2019s marketing rep Takatoshi Sato joins us to talk about how the game has been performing since launch and what has contributed to its success so far.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u3010\u9996\u90fd\u9ad8\u30d0\u30c8\u30eb\/Tokyo Xtreme Racer\u3011#13\uff1aGameplay Footage\" width=\"1160\" height=\"653\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fl_96e8B9GY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"we-got-off-to-a-flying-start-but-we-can-do-even-better\">We got off to a flying start, but we can do even better&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2015Please introduce yourselves.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Kentaro Noguchi (hereafter Noguchi):<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>I\u2019m Noguchi, the producer of Tokyo Xtreme Racer.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Takatoshi Sato (hereafter Sato):<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>I\u2019m Sato, in charge of Tokyo Xtreme Racer\u2019s marketing.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2015TXR\u2019s Early Access seems to have been very successful so far. I was quite blown away to see concurrent users peak at over 15k, despite the title coming after an 18-year break in the series. Do you consider it a hit?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sato:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>I\u2019ll refrain from commenting on specific sales figures (laughs), but if you ask me whether I consider TXR a hit as Genki\u2019s marketing rep, I&#8217;d say that it\u2019s off to a great start. However, I do think there is still room for growth.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2015I see you\u2019re quite ambitious.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Everyone:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>(laughs)&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sato:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>It\u2019s performing well now thanks to the franchise\u2019s popularity, but I think it has potential to do even better. The reviews we\u2019ve received from players so far have been very positive, so I think we can expect more growth in the future.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2015Was the number of Wishlists prior to release indicative of a strong launch? What was the ratio of sales to Wishlist like?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sato:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>It turned out almost exactly as I\u2019d calculated. It was a little higher than anticipated, but mostly within the expected range.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1760\" height=\"1080\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1760px) 100vw, 1760px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tokyoxtremeracer-20250209-327829-001.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-44777\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tokyoxtremeracer-20250209-327829-001.webp 1760w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tokyoxtremeracer-20250209-327829-001-380x233.webp 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tokyoxtremeracer-20250209-327829-001-768x471.webp 768w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tokyoxtremeracer-20250209-327829-001-1536x943.webp 1536w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2015With how hardcore the series\u2019 fanbase is, were you confident that the game would do well even prior to release?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sato:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>I was half excited and half anxious. The 18-year gap added a big element of uncertainty, after all. When I think about it that way, honestly, I think I was actually more anxious than excited.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Noguchi:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>We were especially worried about whether our target audience owned gaming PCs or not. The average age of the TXR series\u2019 core playerbase has increased significantly over time, so whether these players have gaming PCs was something we discussed a lot internally.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sato:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>And then, in the midst of all that, we got comments from fans on X saying, \u201cI went and bought a gaming PC, so there\u2019s no going back now,\u201d which really made us aware of the responsibility we held.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2015You released Tokyo Xtreme Racer at an Early Access price of $29.99, which I found to be on the more expensive side compared to what I usually see on Steam. But on the flip side, I\u2019ve seen passionate fans saying things like \u201cit\u2019s way too cheap!\u201d too, which I found interesting. Can you tell me about how you decided on the game\u2019s pricing?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sato:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>Opinions on this matter were polarized within Genki too. After all, $29.99 is considered quite expensive for an Early Access game. However, we thought that if we could offer Early Access players free updates until the full release, plus a lower price for the game compared to the full release, this would, to some extent, provide value for money. I do think we pushed the limit a bit. Another reason for the pricing was that we didn\u2019t want to widen the gap between the Early Access version and the full game too much.&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;<br><strong>\u2015They say price points around $19.99 and $24.99 tend to be the most marketable, but I see you decided to pursue your own policy.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sato:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>We announced the game\u2019s price on X too, where on one hand, the Japanese price (3,960 yen) was even seen as affordable because it\u2019s under 4,000 yen, but on the other hand, we got harsh reviews saying, \u201cThis isn\u2019t worth $30!\u201d (laughs). So, I\u2019d say there were pros and cons to it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tokyoxtremeracer-20250209-327829-002-1920x1080-1.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-44778\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tokyoxtremeracer-20250209-327829-002-1920x1080-1.webp 1920w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tokyoxtremeracer-20250209-327829-002-1920x1080-1-380x214.webp 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tokyoxtremeracer-20250209-327829-002-1920x1080-1-768x432.webp 768w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tokyoxtremeracer-20250209-327829-002-1920x1080-1-1536x864.webp 1536w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"sales-were-strongest-in-japan-but-some-other-countries-surprised-us\"><strong>Sales were strongest in Japan, but some other countries surprised us<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2015TXR\u2019s popularity is obviously strong in Japan, but I feel like the hype is pretty big overseas too, based on all the non-Japanese language reviews on Steam. What does the language-based breakdown of sales look like?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sato:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>Sales in the Japanese language are number one. The ratio of sales in Japanese to other languages is about 4:6, so yeah, I\u2019d say the game\u2019s domestic popularity is overwhelmingly strong.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2015Were there any regions outside of Japan that surprised you in terms of sales?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sato:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>Personally, I was surprised to see how strong sales were in the UK, as we didn\u2019t do a great deal of promotion in Europe. Our overseas marketing strategy was mainly focused on the US, so growth in that region didn\u2019t come as a surprise, but the response in the UK was unexpected. We also saw growth in the Asian region that was beyond our expectations, although I think this was largely due to the influence of VTubers. Thanks to VTubers, we\u2019ve seen TXR\u2019s popularity increase little by little, especially in China and Taiwan, which we\u2019re very grateful for.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2015I was surprised to see so many content creators streaming the game. Genki kind of has a reputation for being a hardened, veteran developer of high-quality games, but the marketing for TXR felt quite modern and proactive. Were these your strategies, Sato-san?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sato:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>Yes, in fact, Noguchi and I kept fighting about marketing strategies.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2015(laughs)<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Noguchi:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>I didn\u2019t have faith in modern ways.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sato:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>I joined Genki mid-career after switching jobs, and I was very focused on selling the product and thinking up optimal ways to do so. I guess you could say I was considering things in a kind of pragmatic and clear-cut way. Of course, I do believe that the game itself holds 100% of the power when it comes to attracting players, but I also felt like we had to come up with some ways of bringing in new demographics.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, when I thought about how to attract younger players, I arrived at the idea of using social media, YouTube and VTubers. However, one amazing thing that happened with TXR was that VTubers picked it up and played it of their own volition, thanks to the franchise\u2019s reputation. I believe many of them also said so in their videos, but none of the VTubers playing TXR were doing paid promotion.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2015Really? There were so many people streaming the game, I was sure at least some of them were doing paid promotion.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sato:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>Yes, we\u2019re super grateful for it. I feel like we\u2019ve really had a lucky streak.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2015<strong>So, before you could even implement some of your marketing strategies, the game itself attracted content creators and spread by word of mouth.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sato:&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>That\u2019s how I see it, yes. The name \u201cTokyo Xtreme Racer\u201d did the work on its own. It really made me realize how significant the strength of a well-known IP is. We even saw people with no prior knowledge of the series become interested in the buzz surrounding TXR. Then they\u2019d look up the game, realize it\u2019s about racing and get hyped. We were so grateful to see that.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tokyoxtremeracer-20250209-327829-003-1920x1080-1.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-44779\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tokyoxtremeracer-20250209-327829-003-1920x1080-1.webp 1920w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tokyoxtremeracer-20250209-327829-003-1920x1080-1-380x214.webp 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tokyoxtremeracer-20250209-327829-003-1920x1080-1-768x432.webp 768w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tokyoxtremeracer-20250209-327829-003-1920x1080-1-1536x864.webp 1536w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2015<strong>What do you think helped you achieve such a strong start with TXR?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sato:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>Like I mentioned before, it\u2019s the power of the IP itself and the power of VTubers, I really think it all comes down to these two things. And honestly, I think luck was a factor too (laughs).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Noguchi:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>We went to pray at a shrine before the release too.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sato:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>I went to our CEO personally and told him, \u201cWe\u2019ve done everything that can be done marketing-wise. We also have limited funds, so please give us one last little bit of money!\u201d He asked me what I planned to do with it, and I said, \u201cWe\u2019re going to go pray at a shrine and make an offering!\u201d And so, the executives, producers and I actually went and prayed at a shrine (laughs).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2015(laughs)<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Noguchi:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>On a more serious note, I think a big reason for TXR\u2019s success is that so many fans were waiting for it this whole time. The die-hard fans, plus, as Sato mentioned \u2013 the power of the IP itself and the influence of VTubers \u2013&nbsp; were what got us this far.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also, Sato carefully planned scheduled posts for the X account and worked with the designers to make sure we had videos coming out regularly. I think these efforts really helped us reach our fans.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2015<strong>The way you\u2019ve been running (the Japanese) X account feels kind of \u201cpremium\u201d \u2013 you\u2019re communicating with fans, but keeping things firm, or should I say, reflecting the feel of the IP and game.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sato:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>Thank you. When it comes to the official account of Genki as a company, we have a rather free policy, letting the account manager make statements about various topics and activities of the company to give the account a sense of personality.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the other hand, the official Tokyo Xtreme Racer account is meant to introduce the product, so our goal was to create the impression that it\u2019s being run seriously. However, this marketing approach is not really effective in the US, so we do things <em>very<\/em> casually on that side (laughs).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">CONGRATS TO OUR <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/TokyoXtremeRacer?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#TokyoXtremeRacer<\/a> Subreddit for surpassing the 10,000 member mark! You know, there&#39;s a joke somewhere about racing and family&#8230;but I just can&#39;t place it.<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/nNOX9g32aZ\">https:\/\/t.co\/nNOX9g32aZ<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/TXR?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#TXR<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Genki?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Genki<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/GenkiRacingProject?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#GenkiRacingProject<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/zeLU8c3IHV\">pic.twitter.com\/zeLU8c3IHV<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Tokyo Xtreme Racer (@Tokyo_Xtreme) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Tokyo_Xtreme\/status\/1886432079602221089?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">February 3, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>By the way, our designers worked really hard on the videos we\u2019ve been posting. We had some close calls where we\u2019d finish a video only 30 minutes before it\u2019s due to be posted, which took some years off my life (laughs).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Noguchi:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>Like those videos from January detailing car parts. Those were last-minute.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sato:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>Yeah, we barely made it in time with those.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"this-one-review-made-me-laugh-my-head-off\">This one review made me laugh my head off&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2015<strong>There have been so many reviews and reactions to TXR since its Early Access Launch, but have you come across any that were particularly interesting or memorable?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Noguchi:&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>Back in the day, there weren\u2019t really spaces where people could show off their own takes on things, were there? In the TXR series, we purposely leave out the characters\u2019 faces, showing only their silhouettes to encourage people to use their imaginations. But nowadays, fans can go a step further by posting what they\u2019ve imagined, so we get to see various drawings of Polaris and the other characters. I found this really fascinating, and it made me very happy.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tokyoxtremeracer-20250209-327829-004-1920x1080-1.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-44780\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tokyoxtremeracer-20250209-327829-004-1920x1080-1.webp 1920w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tokyoxtremeracer-20250209-327829-004-1920x1080-1-380x214.webp 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tokyoxtremeracer-20250209-327829-004-1920x1080-1-768x432.webp 768w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tokyoxtremeracer-20250209-327829-004-1920x1080-1-1536x864.webp 1536w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sato:&nbsp;<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>I came across this one positive review that made me laugh my head off. It just went like this:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gameplay: Tokyo Xtreme Racer&nbsp;<br>Music: Tokyo Xtreme Race&nbsp;<br>Controls: Tokyo Xtreme Racer&nbsp;<br>Overall: Tokyo Xtreme Racer&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2015(laughs)<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sato:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>We released the new Tokyo Xtreme Racer with the intent of delivering the real deal. The developers worked hard to make sure fans got exactly what they were waiting for all this time. I like to compare it to going to a ramen joint, ordering ramen and getting served good old, classic ramen.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So that funny review that described everything as \u201cTokyo Xtreme Racer\u201d was actually exactly the kind of reaction we were going for. That\u2019s part of why I liked it so much (laughs). Of course, I\u2019ve been reading all of the reviews and feeling immensely grateful for each one of them.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2015By the way, there\u2019s been some amusing phenomena going on in the game, like cars stacking on top of each other and players <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/saaa_vir\/status\/1882562522123035018\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>grinding money by doing \u201cSaudi drifting.\u201d<\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;<strong>Players are afraid their discoveries will get patched out, but what is your stance on these unintended yet entertaining bugs?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Noguchi:<\/strong><br>&#8230;I\u2019m torn (laughs).&nbsp; I want to leave in the fun stuff, but without upsetting anyone. If we don\u2019t handle it well, we could end up disappointing the players.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sato:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>We will, of course, continue to make various updates to the game, and we would like to strike a good balance, making fixes in cases that can\u2019t be overlooked but without affecting players too much.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2015Just the fact that you\u2019re torn tells me you\u2019re thinking about things from the player\u2019s perspective too, which I\u2019m personally happy to hear as a player.<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sato:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>As much as time permits, I keep track of the various trends among players, the praise, and the criticism. We released Tokyo Xtreme Racer in Early Access, and we want to keep refining it by working as closely as possible with players. When the full game is released, I want it to fulfill its potential, meet everyone\u2019s expectations, and lead the way for new developments in the future.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tokyoxtremeracer-20250209-327829-005-1920x1080-1.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-44781\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tokyoxtremeracer-20250209-327829-005-1920x1080-1.webp 1920w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tokyoxtremeracer-20250209-327829-005-1920x1080-1-380x214.webp 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tokyoxtremeracer-20250209-327829-005-1920x1080-1-768x432.webp 768w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tokyoxtremeracer-20250209-327829-005-1920x1080-1-1536x864.webp 1536w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u2015<strong>By the way, are you thinking about releasing the game on consoles?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Noguchi:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>&#8230;No comment!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sato:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>Please support us so we can make it happen (laughs).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2015I\u2019m guessing that means it will depend on how well the game does. Lastly, do you have a message for people interested in picking up Tokyo Xtreme Racer?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Noguchi:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>Tokyo Xtreme Racer is a game that can be described as &#8220;Overall: Tokyo Xtreme Racer\u201d (laughs). I think people often imagine a high entry bar when it comes to racing games, but TXR is above all an entertaining game that lets you enjoy things in a casual way \u2013 and with a unique cultural flavor to boot. By all means, try it out!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sato:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>Tokyo Xtreme Racer is a game that just pulls you in \u2013 before you know it, you\u2019ve spent hours playing. I want people to just give it a try, without thinking about it as a racing game.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u2015Try out the \u201cTokyo Xtreme Race genre\u201d?<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sato:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>Exactly. It\u2019s not a racing game, it\u2019s the Tokyo Xtreme Racer genre. Just try it. Steam even allows refunds, so you have nothing to lose (laughs).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Noguchi:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>You won\u2019t know how fun it is until you play it yourself.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sato: <\/strong>&nbsp;<br>Yeah, even when I\u2019m playing in the dev environment, I just find myself circling the loop line over and over.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tokyoxtremeracer-20250209-327829-006-1920x1080-1.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-44782\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tokyoxtremeracer-20250209-327829-006-1920x1080-1.webp 1920w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tokyoxtremeracer-20250209-327829-006-1920x1080-1-380x214.webp 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tokyoxtremeracer-20250209-327829-006-1920x1080-1-768x432.webp 768w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/tokyoxtremeracer-20250209-327829-006-1920x1080-1-1536x864.webp 1536w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Noguchi:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>It\u2019s like going on a drive.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Sato:<\/strong>&nbsp;<br>Exactly like going on a drive! Also, with racing games, you often have to take care not to stray from the course and stress about shaving seconds off your time, but TXR has walls along the sides of the course and you can have a blast even if you\u2019re not a very good driver. That\u2019s why I\u2019d like to encourage even gamers who aren\u2019t experienced in racing games to pick up Tokyo Xtreme Racer.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Thank you for your time!&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tokyo Xtreme Racer is in Early Access for PC (<a href=\"https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/2634950\/Tokyo_Xtreme_Racer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Steam<\/a>).&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Don\u2019t forget to check out <a href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/interviews\/interview-tokyo-xtreme-racers-big-comeback-after-18-years-was-fueled-by-the-booming-popularity-of-japanese-cars-in-the-real-life-car-scene\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the first part of this interview<\/a>, where Tokyo Xtreme Racer\u2019s producer Kentaro Noguchi talks about what led to the series reboot after 18 years.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right\">[Writer, editor: Koutaro Sato]&nbsp;<br>[Interviewer, editor: Hideaki Fujiwara]&nbsp;<br>[Interviewer, editor: Ayuo Kawase]&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Interview with Tokyo Xtreme Racer producer Noguchi Kentaro and marketing representative Takatoshi Sato about the game&#8217;s performance on Steam so far.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44776,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviews"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Interview: Tokyo Xtreme Racer is selling like hot cakes thanks to an IP name more powerful than any marketing strategy. 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