Armored Core
In 2002, Microsoft released the Xbox console, which was successful in Western regions but had not gained a foothold in Japan or other Asian regions. In an effort to support the Xbox, Microsoft teamed up with FromSoftware to develop an exclusive mecha game for the system. FromSoftware was mostly known for its mecha combat series "Armored Core" at the time. Although they borrowed influence, the team did not want to recreate "Armored Core". The game was developed by the team responsible for the "" games, though the "Armored Core" team provided input for how to incorporate mecha gameplay.