Xbox One Limited To 21 Countries At Launch

[Kahani]

The 360 never sold well in Japan

"Hey guys, our last product didn't sell as well as we'd liked in 10th largest and the 3rd richest country in the world, how should we go about doing better next time?"
"Let's not let them have anything at all!"

Admittedly I'm no retail manager, but I'm pretty sure I could have come up with a better plan than that.

 

[blackrave]

Anyone else thinks that X360 was a fluke?
Xbox failed (not spectacularly, but still)
Xbox360 was dominating the market for years
and now Xbone seems traveling the same direction as Xbox
Awesome!

 

[Evil Smurf]

I just realized something else. Microsoft has officially just stated that 2/3rds of the world's population is incapable of using this system. Wow.

2/3rds of the world are lucky

 

[Piotr Wyskok]

MS, stop convincing me not to buy Xbone. I was already there like 2 announcements ago.
From Poland with *flips a finger*.

 

[ThunderCavalier]

"Don't worry gaise! Next E3 we'll be announcing more countries!"

[sub][sub]What else can I say really? This is such a spectacular fail I can't find anything that can be more expressive than the house facepalm. [/sub][/sub]

I was going to write a facepalm as my comment, but this took care of it for me.

Honestly, Microsoft. Just stop. You're insulting us now.

 

[Vie]

I appreciate the 360 sold poorly on the Japanese market... ..but wow.

Really MS? Your just going to HAND Sony the Japanese market?

Oooo, and then there's China. Sure, they ban the sale of consoles, but loads get in on the grey market... ..that's not going to happen until somebody has a way of bypassing any potential way MS has of checking where you are by your IP address. I guess either Chinese gamers will just have to run their XBone's though a PC to fake an accepted IP addy, or buy Sony.

And there's nowhere in the Middle East, or Africa. Wow, not even Israel or South Africa? The UAE? No?

Wow.

 

[Simalacrum]

Keep hammering Microsoft, you'll have that coffin sealed in no time.

Coffin ? At this point they are building boat for a Norse funeral. The pyre will be spectacular.

Captcha: background noise, what the xbone is becoming.

*****, please, at the rate that Microsoft is going, there will be pyramids making sure that Xbone's spirits will be able to reach the heavens.

It'll be the 8th wonder of the world.

 

[The Great JT]

*Notices how none of those listed countries are in mainland Asia*

Microsoft, are you trying to make a statement, here? I mean I know Asia's been pretty lukewarm to the Xbox in the past (not for lack of trying), but maybe they're trying to tell you something? Something about what you're putting on the Xbox? Or not putting on there, perhaps?

 

[elilupe]

I'm amazed at how many times Microsoft has managed to successfully shoot itself in the foot with a 12-gauge shotgun.

 

[unindexedsearchengine]

Ooh, my country will remain uncontaminated by this new plague, wooo!
/joke

Seriously though, microsoft just can't stop repeatedly shooting itself in the foot, it seems. With all this shitmixing going on, they just handed this generation to Sony on a silver platter. Only the most fanatical,blind and die-hard MS fans will should be buying this. Them, and ignorant people.

 

[Vegosiux]

The point is, the console will I'm sure be released in all the markets they can, simply not at launch. How many people bitching and complaining are intending to buy a next gen console of ANY KIND at launch anyway? Are you? When the PS4 hits shelves will you be there Day 1? Did you buy your 360 or PS3 on Day 1? I seriously doubt it.

I haven't bought a console at all since the SNES days, and I'm going to continue not buying them in the next gen. Just saying I get why people who do want it, and live outside the listed countries, might be upset.

 

[Childe]

Xbox One Limited To 21 Countries At Launch

Microsoft's Xbox One preorder information page states that the console will only support Live in only 21 countries at launch, and therefore presumably won't work anywhere else.

If you were planning on preordering an Xbox One console, you'd be well advised to do yourself a favor and make sure you live in one of these 21 nations:


Australia
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Canada
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Ireland
Italy
Mexico
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Russia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
United States


Why? Because it is in those nations, and those nations only (unless Microsoft changes its mind between now and then) that the Xbox One will be supported through Xbox Live at launch. And since the Xbox One requires online game activation and a daily connection to the central scrutinizer, which I assume must take place via Xbox Live, the unavoidable conclusion is that the console just won't work outside of those countries.

It seems fairly straightforward and yet it's so hard to believe that I can't help thinking that I must be misinterpreting the situation somehow. After all, we're not talking about a lack of support in, say, Equitorial Guinea or the Pitcairn Islands; the list omits nations like Portugal, Japan, Ukraine, Greece and Poland, ironically the homeland of Witcher 3 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/124848-Xbox-One-DRM-Wont-Deter-Witcher-3-Studio] developer CD Projekt. These are potentially huge chunks of the international market that Microsoft appears to be willfully and completely bypassing.

It's possible that a stopgap plan will be put into place to enable the system's functionality in non-Live regions, although no mention of such a thing is made on the site. It does warn, however, that "Xbox One games are for activation and distribution only in specified geographic regions."


Source: Microsoft [http://www.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-one/pre-order-xbox-one/disclaimer]


Permalink

What I love about this is the buckshot they shot themselves with. Maybe some of the countries left out are ok but Japan?? Considering the amount of japanese games made for the xbox and the amount of people who play games there alienating the country doesn't seem like the best idea. I'm loving this sooo much

 

[Vegosiux]

So basically you have no vested interest in what's taking place whatsoever, but you feel it necessary to jump on the hate-wagon. Isn't there something that would be a better use of your time?

My time is mine to use. Quit being so smug. If you don't like reading my posts, put me on ignore or something, but you do not get to insinuate I shouldn't be making them.

 

[Yossarian1507]

So basically you have no vested interest in what's taking place whatsoever, but you feel it necessary to jump on the hate-wagon. Isn't there something that would be a better use of your time?

My time is mine to use. Quit being so smug. If you don't like reading my posts, put me on ignore or something, but you do not get to insinuate I shouldn't be making them.

I can insinuate what I please and your time is poorly spent.

I'll intervene.

I didn't buy any console at day 1, simply because I didn't have disposable income. Last console generation hit the market when I was 16, and I bought my PS2 at the time, and PS3 3 years later, simply because only way to get money then were shitty part time jobs. Now I'm 23, I'm living on my own, I have a good job, and I DO have disposable income. I want to buy a console on day 1 if there's gonna be a game on the system I really want to play (Infamous: Second Son could be one of those, if it will be ready on time).

I was always more of a PS guy (I like their exclusives more), but my stance was "Microsoft - surprise me" (also Quantum Break looks pretty sweet). And they did surprise me. Many times. Negatively each time. Now I learn, that if they won't fix the list, I will be simply unable to play on Xbox One, because my country isn't supported. Guess I'll stick to the PS for yet another generation.

 

[Yossarian1507]

Yes but I think it's fair to assume that the list will be expanded upon post-launch. More countries will be support as the infrastructure and manufacturing is able to supply those countries. what would you prefer, you wait a few months for a working product? Or you get product day 1 and it doesn't work (like SimCity, Diablo III, etcetera). Or is it's available and it works but not in the quantities that people want? (like the Wii)

The only thing negative that I've heard so far is that no one's mentioned Fallout 4.

Most of the stuff people are complaining about doesn't bother me. As long as stuff doesn't get in the way of me playing good games I'm happy.

Well, that's changing the topic. You asked who will buy the console at D1, and you got an answer from at least one person. And D1 sales (as much as it's stupid), are critical whether it's a console, game, movie or book. And this decision gives Sony yet another window to get the edge in this race.

As for the rest of your post - sure, I don't want servers crashed on D1 preventing me from playing games. The problem is - it's the XB1 which has this risk with it's authentication, not PS4. You mention Diablo III and SimCity, but somehow fail to see, the same problem might happen (and looking at the track record, If pressed to bet, I would bet on a D1 crash) with the console you are defending, NOT the competitor, and yet you say this doesn't bother you.

I might buy the argument, that launching it at later date MIGHT improve the chances of servers working properly, but again, this is only a problem and risk if you'll go with XB1. With PS4, it won't be an issue at all. Yet another reason to go with Sony on this one.