XOne will only work in these Countries at launch (1.5mbps)

If the ease in the rest of us with good internet connections would get fucked. Besides I'd bet 99.99% of the target audience is covered in that map. They've already stated the One is NOT for everyone, it's for those with good internet, the 360 is the device for those without internet access.

It's like blaming Apple if you have shitty cell service in your country, that's not their fucking job. It's not Microsoft's job to ensure third world countries have internet and can enjoy luxuries in life. Video games aren't some god given right, they're a hobby and a luxury.

No Poland or Ukraine - the witcher 3 devs won't even be able to play their own game!!

I would be curious to see what they say about it, let me know!

Not just the Witcher, the metro games, that weird Hungarian shooter, the xenoclash developers (chile I think?), and EVERYTHING made in Japan (?!?!) won't have xbone support in their own countries! It's pretty messed up.

Witcher 3 devs have simply said to vote with your wallet, but if you want the optimal experience, buy it DRM-free direct from them on GOG for PC.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-06-11-staunchly-anti-drm-witcher-3-dev-cd-projekt-responds-to-xbox-one-policy-concerns

So if you like Japanese games get the only next gen console available there because you have to think those publishers will focus on PS4 development first and Xbone as secondary.

China and India aren't huge consumers of these products right now but every year their population gets richer and want to be like American consumers. In 2-3 years China can't be ignored and if MS gives up the mindshare now they could lose it entirely and India is the same. Even if only 5% of each of these nations population can buy one of these devices that is still 150,000,000 people that you could market to. That is not a small number and that number will grow exponentially.

MS has been chasing Apple and Google for years and they can not catch up, instead of innovating they make clunky/poorly designed devices that try to beat Apple and Google which MS simply can't do as they have proven with their phone, tablet, and OS offerings over the last 10 years.

Hell Google already made an Xbone type TV device (Google TV) and they couldn't make it work so I can't see MS figuring it out.

The difference is even if I have shitty cell reception, Apple isn't giving me arbitrary restrictions.

Besides, they could have just opted out of discs all together for this "good internet connection" part of the world that you speak of. Make it completely digitial distribution. I mean, the discs they sell is completely useless anyway.

They've expressed in an interview I read yesterday that that's their goal. They're not a fan of discs and what they're doing is trying to wean the world away from them and into a digital world. I'm certainly excited for it. That's the reason behind the changeup with how they deal with game lending because they have to develop a policy that will work and not be exploited in an all digital future.

Im pretty sure he works at MS.

It's based on their own words. They released a faq detailing all the features and DRM of the console. The only thing you can do when it's not connected to the internet is watch TV and play blu-rays and DVDs.

here is a list of games being made for xbox one by developers that cant play there own games

• Cyberpunk 2077
• Dying Light
• D4 (published by microsoft)
• The Evil Within
• Final Fantasy XV
• Kingdom Hearts III
• Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain
• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

No, that's the only thing you can do if it hasn't authenticated in the last 24 hours. Once it's authenticated you can go 23:59 hours offline before it has to authenticate again. If it isn't connected at the 24th hour, then you can only watch TV and movies.

Well shit. Now I literally can't get the XBone.

For some of those games I wouldn't be surprised if some go PS4 exclusive if Sony gets a big enough lead especially if some of those games are late 2014 - 2015 release dates.

Good to know my XBO will start to go to pieces the moment someone else in my house watches a youtube video.

I say fuck'em. We don't need those arrogant Micro$oft pricks.

@jdh5153: I am sure their goal is written somewhere on some Microsoft notepad and it all makes sense. But applying "digital logic" to physical objects is far from the best way of doing that (just look at the attitude toward them and their policies lately). And since they're already giving everyone not on board the middle finger, I find the disc thing still being there to be a little strange. But then, their "modern connected" device needs decently fast internet (or actually fast, had they been all digital) without much usage caps from ISPs.. which, from what I understand is an issue in North America, their home territory. Here, where I am in Sweden, we have fast reliable internet with no real usage caps to speak of. So for me, their "we're the modern console" is still pretty much a relic notion in some ways. Sony is keeping discs, the way discs are intended to work. But they also offer the digital solution of tomorrow. That, to me, is a much more elegant solution and a much better way to give people the time to get used to the all-digital future without being unnecessarily intrusive or inconvenient.

Crazy stuff is you ask me.

Yeah, you make a good point. I must be living in some third world country just because Microsoft deems me unworthy of owning their console.

There is only 48 MIllion or so XBLive individual subscriptions with 76 Million Units sold. So you can assume that 1/3rd of all 360s sold were to either households that dont have highspeed internet, or that dont want to pay for access to XBLive. XBLive will never be free, Microsoft makes roughly 2.5 Billion a year on the service. If everyone has XBLive Gold, it will be closer to 3.9 Billion. This is the Money that sony is chasing as well. But with them, it is going to be optional.

My wife's family lives in a rural area, and not a single one of them has highspeed, yet all of them have 360s.

@pezen: Just ignore him he is either a troll or Microsoft employee.He is not worth arguing with.

And Microsoft are completely crazy. They will lose the whole Asia and half of Europe completely. It doesn't matter if they add some of these countries later, because buy then PS4 will already be the console most people own.

Yes, like Monaco.

You do realise this is just for the initial launch? Or would that logic blow away the ability to just rage. I'm stoked Australia gets it in the first pass. And current xbox live requires a broadband connection. The limit on whats called broadband here is 1.5mbps. This also means that my 4g connection is more then enough to authenticate in dire situations. My dsl is awful, between 2-4 meg, and I would hope a new console will be able to benefit from the growing speed of the internet. Especially down under with the NBN fibre rollout. Microsoft seem intent on making a console that can stretch from now, with dsl being fairly norm, to the future with fibre and more. I want a new console thats looking toward the future, something to grow into. Not some box thats aimed at India. You do realise the vast majority of that 1.2 billion doesnt even have a 55" hd tv!

Alright, I'm going to play Devil's Advocate for a bit and ask how many people in those other countries are even in positions to get those consoles. If there are any GB members in those countries that seem neglected (i.e. South America, Eastern Europe) I'd like to hear how consoles are currently sold there. I've gotten the impression that most gamers in those areas just play PC and pirate everything.

The problem isn't that its just for the initial launch, but a portion of the potential audience that may want the Xbox One won't be able to get it or even use it if they get it, for a time. They will migrate to the next best thing that is cheaper and has less restrictions. It's like how businesses should combat against piracy. You're competing against something that is free so what you have to do is offer a service that is pleasant, reliable, and easy to use and worth the money. In this case, the Xbox One is competing against the PS4 which is already cheaper and has less restrictions. One of the comparisons is that PS4 is region free and that Xbox One is more or less so.

MS can look to the future without imposing the restrictions it has. It'd be a mistake to think that both companies are not looking to the future. Both were designed from the ground up to be multimedia/digital focused, it's just that MS came out and said that first. They are trying to bring a future forward really quickly, integrate everything, and thus reach out to that broad audience. Whereas Sony knows who they are trying to target first and they are hitting it really well. Once they have their core audience and their attention, they can slowly introduce the future that both console makers are looking towards.

This time it isn't a vocal minority who is speaking out against MS. Every misstep Microsoft now takes it makes even hard for them to target so broadly. Because that broad market if they hear all that negativity, it reduces the chances of them accepting the Xbox One as the all-in-one device it is supposed to be.

That's really shitty, but it doesn't surprise me in the least. They picked the countries where the Xbox is actually kinda relevant and where 1.5 mbps is feasible.

If we look at numbers in South Africa they sold 102,000 until aug. 2009. In may they sold a total 30 million consoles worldwide. So that means South Africa is responsible for about 0,34% of global sales. You decide ;)

Well, I'm from Iceland. We don't get the xbone even though we have somewhere around 95% high speed broadband adoption. I don't have official numbers but it seems that consoles exist in about half the households here. English is our second language and no games are localized. There seems to be no reason to exclude Iceland. I think it comes down to content deals. Microsoft seems to be launching in countries that they might have secured some TV deals for content on their TV box.

I guess that DRM policy is coming at a hefty price. A very arrogant move by Microsoft, reminiscent of PS3 Sony with Cell, we are the future you either play catch-up or fuck off.

What the fuck are they doing?! Granted, I meet the requirements, but that's beyond the point. The hole is getting bigger and they just keep on digging.

Sony must actually be laughing at this point.

No Vatican City support? Microsoft just made a powerful enemy...

It's getting to the point that I just shake my head at every new bit of news that comes in. They had a couple of cool exclusives at the conference, but it's just not enough to combat all this dumbness.

@halfdeaf said:

This is a really salient point, so I'm just going to quote it without really adding anything worthwhile.

They screw Japan. huh

Witcher 3 is PS4 as well.

Well. I suppose the next generation of consoles is an easy choice for some of our international users. This only makes business sense If you take goodwill out of the equation.

It's not that there isn't some truth to 'digital is the future,' of course it is. I have... Maybe 100 games on my backlog on Steam because I keep buying more than I can play. But forcing people to go digital without offering any real incentive to is just going to end up with them butting heads a lot. It's not that Sony is behind the times either; you can play your games as they're downloading and that is fucking dark witchcraft they have stolen from the future! They have an absolute ton of F2P stuff already announced for the PS4 (that is not stuck behind a paywall like with Live) and it's looking like even if I don't buy a single retail game with a PS4 at launch there will still be stuff to play. Microsoft's approach in comparison seems to be, "This will be great in 5 years' time, trust us." That didn't work for Diablo, it didn't work for Sim City, in both cases it wasn't even necessary and I'm not falling for it again until it can be supported.

This is amazingly stupid. I want to know the thoughts of the giant bomb crew and their guests on this revelation.

@fluxwavez said:

Map of where the Xbox One will and won't work at launch:

The hits, they just keep coming.

You missed Tasmania :P Although, it would be incredibly hilarious if it just didn't launch there as per this nice graphic.

Unless you are from one of these countries that is excluded, I think most of you are over reacting.

Microsoft has made it clear from the beginning that online is their primary focus, yes it is a bummer in some cases, and I do think that 24hours is way too short for an online check in, how ever it will mean for a better online ecosystem, which I really want. No more peer to peer would be amazing for me and not needing disks in the system, yes!

And 500$ is steep, but Microsoft will pack in more value to the system before launch, they pretty much have to.

Steam people! Put this into perspective!

I am still hopeful, call me a sheep but the games shown and some of the online advancements have me excited, I also have internet, I am not sure I will want the system if they don't roll back the 24 hour BS but I am hopefull that they will change that now.

@spacerunaway: Two more points I forgot. Microsoft exists in an official capacity in Iceland, customer service and all. Also, publishing rights for TV content and movies are notoriously expensive per customer. It all adds up.

Hi there from Portugal! A country that apparently doesn't appear in green on Microsoft worthiness map.

Some fine folks on this thread that know all the countries in the world make some very interesting points about it:

-I'm apparently from a country that doesn't have Broadband (I'm doing this with a 56k modem! It's a Texas instrument by the way).

Little bit of info, Portugal had the second highest penetration rate of Broadband behind Belgium in 2010, and this was before the fiber optics investments of 2011/12.

-I live in a country ravaged by War, Famine and Pestilence (actually only Death comes to visit, he likes the beaches.)

Another tidbit, our disposable income, while smaller than it was due to the financial crisis can actually support a new console. Oh and our spot of trouble with the financial thingy. Little secret here: IT'S GLOBAL. The only reason we haven't been getting as much support as Spain or Italy is due to European politics to long to be discussed here.

-I'm also from a country filled with members of the PC Master Race (weird with all those wars going on), that just pirate everything (and WITHOUT BROADBAND! We are some very patient pirates).

Again. It's quite a quick survey but from what I can see in multiple households I'm familiar with, if there's a TV, there's Cable, Broadband and a Console connected. Generally a Sony one. Can't see that changing now can I?

-Finally I DO remember steam. Heck I remember steam when Half-Life 2 was launched. And it worked as well here as it did in every country FROM DAY ONE.

Now I came into this generation owning all 3 of the consoles (Yes I have disposable income. quite a bit of it fortunately. I save alot by not having BroadBand, selling weapons to keep the war going and by pirating toilet paper). Might get the WiiU eventually, pre-ordered the PS4 and even with all this bullshit I was going to get The XBone day one.

Now? Fuck you Microsoft.

PS:: To everyone that is still going to get a XBone because you are in the shiny map. I won't begrudge you of your choice. If the concerns raised by this draconian DRM bullshit do not affect you, great I'm happy for you, really am. But to denounce someone who ACTUALLY HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THIS as cry-babies or hate mongers or whatever the word of choice is going to be tomorrow, is honestly... Seriously fucked up.

Most console owners don't use Steam. Bringing up Steam as a way to justify Microsoft's anti consumer policies means nothing to people who are console gamers.

That's unfortunate. While it is highly likely that they're going to expand to other regions in the future, its disappointing nontheless. I live in Malaysia and we have perfectly fine internet speeds. It sucks that a lot of people from various regions are getting shafted day one. Along with other things, this doesn't bode well for the XBone.

TBH, I suspect that Portugal doesn't appear in the list of supported countries simply because that list was Made In America, where distinctions like "it's not part of Spain" don't hold any water. It would be really weird if MS supported all of western Europe except one country.

Yay, in theory I could buy an XBone. Hooray for me.

Man, that's fucked up.

To be honest if they aren't going to countries without decent internet then I am sort of surprised that they are coming to Australia. Even so, I loved my 360 so much, you used to be cool Microsoft, you used to be cool :(