Xbox One games are for activation and distribution only in specified geographic regions. See game package and/or retailer product information, for each game’s specific geographic regions.

By the looks of it they will IP block you. That is fucking insane. Holy shit. That is not only region lock anymore. This must be against some laws in Europe I am pretty sure they will not be able to do that.

So Microsoft has just given up on Asia? Is that even all the countries in the EU? What the fuck are they doing?

Are they completely out of their minds? Are they just taking the piss?

Looks like alot of countries to be launching in.

Good on them.

Canada?

Check.

Moving on.

That is not even half of them.

Oh and this also:

This is not arrogance anymore. This is insanity.

Is that list significantly different from the list of countries which receive official Xbox Live support today? They have always had a similar disclaimer for the 360.

A little suprised not to see India on that list. Granted I have no idea what console sales are like, aside from that the PS2 seemed to be becoming 'popular' into the middle of the PS3's life span. Aside from that, even though it's kind of messed up, it's what I was expecting when they announced the 24 hour check-ins.

India is late 2014 and only in these countries so far:

The new device will only be available in select Asian markets – Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and India

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

The hits, they just keep coming.

This strikes me as beyond stupid; if you look at the movie industry close to 70% of the revenue is from overseas/non US markets including just a massive presence in China, the NBA and MLB are making similar steps to "globalize" their brand essentially and Microsoft is just saying "fuck it" instead of trying to embrace the majority of the world's population and even the majority of the population that has access to consumer goods.

They got spain but not Portugal ?

I thought Japan had some of the fastest internet speeds in the world. What gives?

It looks like they only went with the richest countries in Europe. Which also says a lot.

What the fuck.

Well looks like I can't use a Xbox in my country. Moving on...

To me it just looks like they're launching in the Xbox 360's biggest markets. They're obviously not going to launch in Asia because they're not big there. Don't see how this is such shocking news.

@darji said:

Alright, that makes more sense on the 1.5mbps standard then to have India as medium priority. Though the average internet speed in India is picking up, it was something like 1.2mbps last year and will likely be at, if not supercede, their required 1.5mbps connection speed by next year. I imagine Iceland was cut for actual game sales in Iceland being relatively low and their supposed piracy numbers being relatively high, thanks to having to import.

They are blocking your system. It is not region lock its country lock.

... Oh. This doesn't affect me at all but holy cow, that's super crummy.

They will also need to make sure that these 21 countries will have enough stock for the launch period. This is how console launches work. You guys remember how the PS3 launched 6 months later in Europe than in Japan and the US?

The 1.5 Mb/s requirement makes sense since Xbox Live required a 500 Kb/s connection eleven years ago.

That's dumb. That's incredibly dumb. Not only has MS said "fuck you" to anyone who doesn't want to connect to the internet every day, they've said "fuck you" to well over half the world.

@fredchuckdave: But most movies are not released in all countries and certainly not at the same time. Sometimes it takes months to be released all over. Perhaps it has something to do with legal or technical issues with certain countries or unions but I couldn't say but does seem odd.

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

The people of Poland will not be able to play The Witcher 3 on XBox One....I guess they are PC people.

Yeah crazy to think about that. Either CDRED did not know about that or they totally sold out.

@twisted_scot: Generally it's within a few months, not years as stipulated above. But you do have to try; China is going to eclipse our GDP before too long.

Not entirely convinced that would even be legal within the EU.

It's a multiplatform game. They didn't sell out shit.

Surely this is just for their Western release, even then that only gives an excuse for why Asian market isn't represented.

@fluxwavez said:

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

The hits, they just keep coming.

Can we get a map of that in terms of population density or whatever? Then again, I'm not a fan of this announcement, either. Microsoft would essentially hold me responsible for factors outside my control that aren't entirely necessary for the machine's operation. They're really pushing the Internet features, aren't they?

And after Googling just that, it turns out Microsoft's decision looks far, far worse. That large bloated part in the East? Let's ignore that.

Asia and more than half of Europe won't have the chance to buy an XBOX on launch. Not to mention Africa and most of South America. It's... kinda insane.

Someone should let the bomb crew know about this. I want to hear there takes. This just seems insane.

Also this is a real middle-finger to military personnel. I can't personally speak to this but don't military dudes play a lot of games on bases when they're stationed in other countries? I believe the xbox is the system of choice. I guess not anymore. Even with an internet connection you're still boned. If publishers asked for DRM I think this is a step too far even for them.

This doesn't affect me at all but this is really shitty. Microsoft execs must be on peyote or something.

@fluxwavez said:

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

The hits, they just keep coming.

Here's a picture of countries that currently have access to Xbox Live right now:

@9cupsoftea: Wait people actually play a CRPG on something that's not a PC? What....

I know its consolewars material but still. That is why region free is so great.

@zombiepie said:

@fluxwavez said:

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

The hits, they just keep coming.

Here's a picture of countries that currently have access to Xbox Live right now:

What does that mean? That the other countries can't play multiplayer games?

What in the god damn hell? I wonder when all this shit goes down will Microsoft regret all of these shitty practices.

@darji: Oh god the console war crap is going to start again isn't it? Time to log off the forums for a few years I guess.

@winternet: Means you can't do anything in those countries since Live is required to use the console.

@winternet: No it means they can't use the xbox 1 for games.

@winternet: Not without the use of a VPN (which is against the ToS), no.

There was always console wars. But it just showed Microsoft'ss way of thinking right now. Microsoft needs to be stopped no matter what. And by the looks of it they will somehow through European laws. I can not imagine how this is actual legal.

Xbox 360 sales have been amazing in North America, great in the UK and good enough in most of Europe but not all of it and good enough in Australia. After that they've been terrible in Japan and Asia in general as well as South America.

From the look of it they have essentially given up on any market where they aren't already doing good business instead of trying to actually improve their business in those market. This is pure insanity considering that these markets are growing way faster than the big established western markets for all fields of the entertainment industry. Sony is already doing great in those more emergent markets that have been until not so long ago starved for games and movies. I'm no expert but anyone just reading on these topics from time to time can tell that this is a ridiculous business plan and extremely short sighted even if they have intentions of expanding later on. You have to be aggressive in trying to get people in those market on board with your stuff.

Just them leaving Japan and India out of the picture of countries in which they currently support the Xbox 360 even if only temporarily... It's only about 1.2 billion people after all, no big deal.

Step 1: www.neogaf.com

Step 2: CTRL + C

Step 3: Use that to seem informed

Step 4: Profit

I believe that some countries outside of the official Live supported areas can still access Live but receive no official support and no guarantee of service.

Abandoning places the business isn't good is a strategy and often necessary but I have to question the general strategy at the launch. If the technology isn't good enough for a global audience then what is the point of this box? It can't be the "input one" if it doesn't work in so many homes.

This is almost to the point is comical. The more details come out the more it appears it is not ready for release. If it is not ready for some for most of the world I would suggest they wait. Or abandon the notion it is an international product and just focus on getting it working the best in one place instead of paying lip service and then being shocked when no one on the other side of the planet buy or cares about it.

I feel like I'm in a bizarro universe when looking at some of these decisions MS is making. It's clear they want to lead us willingly, or drag us kicking and screaming into what they think the future should be. I'm happy other console options exist.

@9cupsoftea: Yup, it just goes to show msft ignorance.