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[Senor Kami]

I imagine if they said "second wave" this thread would be like 10 pages long saying MS is insensitive to use that word given the tsunami recovery is still going on and there'd be a billion gifs of X1s and Windows logos striking the coast.

 

[Tellaerin]

It's interesting hearing how people are interpreting this.

When I read "Tier 2", I didn't get the impression that MS considered Japan a second-rate nation. It did suggest to me that MS considers Japan a second-rate market for the Xbone, which is definitely something I can see factoring into peoples' purchases. (Who wants to buy a product when it's clear the manufacturer sees your country as an afterthought? What kind of software and hardware support can they expect in a scenario like that?)

 

[Zephyrus]

Not like Japan will buy a tier 2 console either...

 

[chrominance]

I feel like Japan probably cares less about this apparent slight from Microsoft than some people in this thread.

Or, to put it another way, NancyPelosiWhoCares.gif

 

[Mutanthands]

It's interesting hearing how people are interpreting this.

When I read "Tier 2", I didn't get the impression that MS considered Japan a second-rate nation. It did suggest to me that MS considers Japan a second-rate market for the Xbone, which is definitely something I can see factoring into peoples' purchases. (Who wants to buy a product when it's clear the manufacturer sees your country as an afterthought? What kind of software and hardware support can they expect in a scenario like that?)

Better way of putting it than I did. Why drive away (even more) potential business with (even more ) clumsy PR?

 

[ASIS]

I imagine if they said "second wave" this thread would be like 10 pages long saying MS is insensitive to use that word given the tsunami recovery is still going on and there'd be a billion gifs of X1s and Windows logos striking the coast.

At least that's open for (apparently creative) interpretation. Tierother not.

 

[Fox Mulder]

I don't get the problem, apart from the wording.

They've tried to get the Xbox footing in Japan twice now with awful results. Focus on strong markets first.

 

[Vyrance]

Why the hell would they label the countries as tiers. That just makes it sound really bad. Have to be able to label their shipments as something else.

 

[artist]

Most of the people 'outraged' are Sony fans, its obvious plus this is the Gaf and anything to do with Microsoft is ripped apart. Just look at the thread title for proof of that, we should be talking about whether this is a good idea by Microsoft or whether its about time they gave up on Japan etc but no, someone just had to include the 'Tier 2 Country' in the thread title 'sigh'.

This needs to be repeated. Neogaf is infamous for making mountains out of molehills. Which is the case here of people getting excited over the term 'tier'. The next xbox is going to have neglible sales in Japan regardless of what phrasing is used. The use of 'tier' in a statement is not going to change anything.

It can mean several things, and it's obvious what they meant, but considering everyone goes out of their way to twist everything Microsoft says into something else entirely, we know what meaning people are going to extract from it. Having said that, Microsoft should be aware that this phenomenon exists at this point, and walk on egg shells when saying anything to the public. So the blame ultimately rests on their shoulders.

In GAF,it doesn't matter even it's good news about MS,it will still become negative quickly
So why would you think MS will have good look in GAF some day?

I'm getting tired_of_this_shit complex with this persecution complex of yours ..

 

[Maximilian Kolbe]

I imagine if they said "second wave" this thread would be like 10 pages long saying MS is insensitive to use that word given the tsunami recovery is still going on and there'd be a billion gifs of X1s and Windows logos striking the coast.

Actually,they do said "second wave" in the interview

 

[schwabdizzle]

Damn.........MS is just really shitty at wording things these days.

 

[Angelus Errare]

So US/NA is Nightslayer and Japan is Bloodfang?

 

[AniHawk]

i find this shocking coming from the makers of project midway.

 

[MisterNegative]

So Microsoft, what you're saying is in your corporate eyes, the Japanese are second rate gamers? And you don't expect what little fans you have in that market to be offended... What a crock of shit.

lmao. They never said this at all. They said japanese gamers don't buy their shit, and they don't. So it's not Tier 1 i.e the most important.

 

[Batigol]

Not seeing the problem here. Just differentiating between countries who would buy their console more.

By all accounts UK and US would be tier 1.

If Xbone has limited stock, you target the countries it would sell best in.

 

[Xenon]

Not seeing the problem here. Just differentiating between countries who would buy their console more.

By all accounts UK and US would be tier 1.

If Xbone has limited stock, you target the countries it would sell best in.

It's bad business to tell any customer they are less important, even if they are.

 

[Maximilian Kolbe]

Not excited about it, but you still can't dismiss it out of hand. The use of the word doesn't only tweak the Japanese market, but all the other (mostly Asian) markets in the second "tier."
Critiques of the various companies public faces leading up to launch are fair game. And Microsoft seems to be drifting a little bit, making miscalculations and mistakes galore. Why the lack of focus?

Nah,it just fine,from 2ch,the main target of the interview shows they don't mad about the word "tier",they don't even care this word actually,just saying "hope won't be too late","well now i'm 100% sure PS4 will win in Japan","whatever,home console market already fucked in japan","Forza is awesome(lolwat)"

 

[BraXzy]

MS PR is so terrible it's funny. Surely it would sound less harsh if they said something more along the lines of "They will be a part of the second wave of releases"

 

[lwilliams3]

At least that's open for (apparently creative) interpretation. Tiers do not.

Agreed. The thread may have been long anyway due to MS giving up more of its slim chance to make the Xbox brand relevant in Japan, but the way it was done makes it even worse.

 

[Alchemist]

I don't get the problem, apart from the wording.

They've tried to get the Xbox footing in Japan twice now with awful results. Focus on strong markets first.

The problem is Microsoft themselves said they're committed to Japan with the Xbox One. You don't deem an "important market" as second rate whether it's the case or not.

 

[Sub_Level]

Capcom, Konami, and SE will still develop games for x1 but if MS wants more Japanese devs on board they will need to do better than late 2014. Thats ridiculous. At least aim for summer.

 

[That1BlackGuy]

He could've worded it differently but given the business performance of their past two home consoles in the Japanese space I highly doubt that market cares very much in the bigger picture.

 

[neodeano]

Seriously if they care that much about the Xbox, Microsoft has an option for that: it's called the 360.

 

[TheJLC]

Man... this PR just keeps getting better and better.

 

[dragonelite]

The problem is Microsoft themselves said they're committed to Japan with the Xbox One. You don't deem an "important market" as second rate whether it's the case or not.

Committed like in money hatting games and content

 

[Maximilian Kolbe]

Capcom, Konami, and SE will still develop games for x1 but if MS wants more Japanese devs on board they will need to do better than late 2014. Thats ridiculous. At least aim for summer.

They do aim for before June 30 2014
Because they also said coming 2014 financial year in other interview
The late 2014 "news" is never confirming anything

Oh btw,MS Hong Kong just confirmed they will attend ACGHK 2013,so i don't think Asia and Japan will be late(Oct-Dec) 2014

 

[Zee-Row]

Tier 2 sounds like an insult to me.

 

[LittleJohnny]

Yes, please keep the supply here where people actually want the system. This was the norm for Japanese consoles like the PSX anyway, I remember importing the console nearly a year before it hit the states, but before even reading replies I bet this will be spun negatively like all other Xbox One news even if Sony did the same for us in the past.

 

[Alchemist]

Committed like in money hatting games and content

Waste of time. Unless they could somehow snatch Dragon Quest and/or Monster Hunter from Nintendo I can't see Microsoft having any impact at all.

 

[Sub_Level]

They do aim for before June 30 2014
Because they also said coming 2014 financial year in other interview
The late 2014 "news" is never confirming anything

Oh btw,MS Hong Kong just confirmed they will attend ACGHK 2013,so i don't think Asia and Japan will be late(Oct-Dec) 2014

Well thats better. And still far enough away from launch that a $100 price drop might come come to fruition (post E3 2014)

 

[Angelus Errare]

お前はTitanfallを見たことがありますか？

 

[Jarmel]

Well it's true for them and I can't blame them. They tried last gen and it did nothing, so why waste money this gen? If they get enough US sales then they'll get Japanese support to a degree anyway.

 

[harSon]

I'm getting tired_of_this_shit complex with this persecution complex of yours ..

And yet in this case, it's 100% true.

 

[Sub_Level]

お前はTitanfallを見たことがありますか？

Titanfall? Sugoi!

 

[MogCakes]

Nobody uses the phrase "tiers" to describe first world, second world, and third world countries. I've never heard that in my life. Googling "world tiers" gives 126million results, none of which are for describing socio-economic status of countries.

No one uses the word 'tiers' to describe countries, but the way they're referenced is in tiers, by terms such as first world, developing, third world and such. I said that in my post. Google 'first world nations', 'developing nations', and 'third world' nations and see what you get. My point stands.

Some?2ch is biggest bbs in japanese
And if that's what you mean,every news for MS won't be positive or negative since every forum just covered "some" peoples,and no one would know everyone's thinking when read any news about Xbox.

That's exactly what I'm getting at. You can't claim to speak for every person in Japan. There are many who understand English just fine with all its connotations and that includes the use of the word tier. Some will take offense. You cannot say that all Japanese people won't take offense to being called a tier 2 country - the word 'tier' just has that connotation of hierarchy. And all of this is beside the point; the point is that using the word 'tier' is just a poor word choice for PR, period. Japan isn't stupid, they took the intended meaning just as all of us did - but I'm sure those who understand English would agree, better words could have been used. 2ch for that matter is not representative of the entire JP internet. 4chan is not representative of the entire internet, so why would 2ch be that for the JP community?

I don't even think it is that sinister to be honest,

It's not about MS being sinister or evil, it's just criticism of their poor choice of words when speaking to PR. Public Relations is a sensitive thing, you have to word your sentences in a way that just about everyone can understand clearly with no room for misinterpretation. Many people have already said this prior to my comment - their message is fine, the phrasing is terrible.

 

[Anoregon]

People are definitely GAF'ing out hard over this. There is nothing to be upset or offended about. The Xbox brand does not do well in Japan, so Japan isn't a high priority for Microsoft. That is not scandalous.

 

[Relaxed Muscle]

I guess this means they won't bother with japanese exclusives anymore?

Why would they bother?

 

[lunchwithyuzo]

Not like Japan will buy a tier 2 console either...

All consoles are Tier 2 or lower in Japan.

 

[Relaxed Muscle]

People are definitely GAF'ing out hard over this. There is nothing to be upset or offended about. The Xbox brand does not do well in Japan, so Japan isn't a high priority for Microsoft. That is not scandalous.

At least they kinda tried with 360. Now they're just destroying all that effort.

I guess ppl wonders too what's gonna happen with all those japanese 360 games they got and now they could miss if they buy an Xbox One.

When the "best selling" console in Japan is selling at numbers less than half of the previous two generation's best-selling console, yes, it's not off-base to refer to it as a tier 2 country. There's soft demand for set-top game systems in the country, that's not a matter of opinion. This is on top of the limited market appeal for the Xbox brand in Japan.

Dat spin. MS should hire you.

 

[Gestault]

When the "best selling" console in Japan is selling at numbers less than half of the previous two generation's best-selling console, yes, it's not off-base to refer to it as a tier 2 country. There's soft demand for set-top game systems in the country, that's not a matter of opinion. This is on top of the limited market appeal for the Xbox brand in Japan.

 

[Kagari]

I guess this means they won't bother with japanese exclusives anymore?

Why would they bother?

The real question is: why would Japan bother?

 

[Dr. Kitty Muffins]

I think Microsoft just needs to stay quiet for awhile and let the hate blow over.

 

[DarkCloud]

do you have a source for either of those things? again I'm just going by the official Xbox One Pre-Order Product Information

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-one/pre-order-xbox-one/disclaimer

The Kinect distance has been stated as 3 feet since the May reveal. Wired has an on hand demonstration on youtube where this is demonstrated.

That and lot more info on Kinect is in this vid.

As for the update bit I can't recall who told me that off hand but I can assure you that it's how they plan to roll out the initial update. They've never left offline users high and dry when it comes to firmware updates...on Xbox original important updates were bundled onto new software (especially software that needed said updates). With 360 you can currently download updates and install them via usb media or burnt cd. With Xbox One they will still allow downloaded updates to work via usb media or via setting up your phone/tablet as an internet connection and getting the update that way.

And as all games are installation discs it's not unthinkable that they'd go back to the xbox original way of doing things and slapping key updates onto the discs again.

 

[LittleJohnny]

It's interesting hearing how people are interpreting this.

When I read "Tier 2", I didn't get the impression that MS considered Japan a second-rate nation. It did suggest to me that MS considers Japan a second-rate market for the Xbone, which is definitely something I can see factoring into peoples' purchases. (Who wants to buy a product when it's clear the manufacturer sees your country as an afterthought? What kind of software and hardware support can they expect in a scenario like that?)

Did anyone here buy a PlayStation?

Sony considered the US a 2nd tier market and launched in Japan first. I think Xbox 360 was the first console to due a multi-region launch, but if production is tight, why not target the US first?

 

[Relaxed Muscle]

The real question is: why would Japan bother?

I guess that after being abandoned, not with one, but two consoles after a few years on the market it would require an incredible amount of effort to regain confidence.

 

[CharlieDigital]

Maybe it was lost in translation (guessing the original was in Japanese).

But "tier" is an absolutely terrible term to use here. Could have avoided all this nonsense just by using "wave" or "zone" instead. "Wave 1", "Wave 2" or "Zone 1", "Zone 2".

 

[iMerc]

It's bad business to tell any customer they are less important, even if they are.

yep.
lol. wow.

ahh well. still buying an xbone day 1, but wow at the wording here.

"hey your country is a 'tier 2' nation, but please don't report this negatively". lol
I mean, i'm sure that's not what they meant, but they had to realise that's exactly how may people are going to take it.

Regardless how you spin it; it sounds quite insulting.
Imagine if they said "we'll be dropping the bomb on japan after we drop it in the west first". holy shit.

Maybe it was lost in translation (guessing the original was in Japanese).

But "tier" is an absolutely terrible term to use here. Could have avoided all this nonsense just by using "wave" or "zone" instead. "Wave 1", "Wave 2" or "Zone 1", "Zone 2".

Yeah, i'm not sure if 'wave' is the correct term to use when discussing japan in light or recent history.

 

[Monumental]

ITT: Forum posters get "insulted" on behalf of Japan over a word implied to have a different meaning than the very specific context in which it was used.

 

[CrunchyFrog]

MS PR has been spewing forth oscar worthy gold. How can one company put it's foot in it's collective mouth so damn many times? And in multiple languages no less!

 

[McLovin]

The 360 did terribly in japan, they are lucky if they get the x1 at all tbh.