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[Templar_Dante]

Tier 1 release
Tier 2 release
Tier 3 release

must be PR talk for "Yield problems, no worldwide release".

 

[twobear]

Before I get my pitchfork back out of the cupboard, I'd like to know if there's any ambiguity of translation.

 

[Diddy Kong]

Thankfully, Japan has Xbox 360.

 

[Pie and Beans]

We have a console for Tier 2 countries already; its called Xbox 360.

 

[TacosNSalsa]

Ok..I'm almost completely convinced that a Sony fan is running Microsofts PR department ...there is no other explanation

 

[SmokedMeat]

Xbone - Knock Knock it's Tier 1

 

[daxgame]

"Yes, so please don’t report too negatively."

No worries Microsoft, nobody ain't going to buy it in Japan anyway.

 

[Parakeetman]

It's not that they consider it a less important market and they need to concentrate their money and business on other countries first, but you don't go around calling countries "Tier 2" when you have costumers there waiting for your console, that's kinda insulting even if they didn't intend it, and that's the issue here

Exactly.

All Sony has to do now is actually release this year in Japan and pretty much the X180 is gonna be dead on the water when it eventually launches. Esp with the fact its going to cost more too.

 

[Into]

In Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo terms:

Tier 1:
Balrog (North America), Dhalsim (Europe)

Tier 2:
Ryu (Japan)

Tier 3:
Ken (Poland i suppose?)

 

[marc^o^]

PR 101.

 

[DarkFlow]

I don't blame them really, Japan has shunned Xbox like it has the plague. Why should they waste money there when it could be used elsewhere to help it get off the ground? God knows they need all the help they can get at this point.

 

[Grok4Spock]

God Tier= PS4
Tier 2= XBone
Lol Tier= Wii U

 

[The_Lump]

Dat PR machine.

 

[Parakeetman]

Before I get my pitchfork back out of the cupboard, I'd like to know if there's any ambiguity of translation.

Seems to be pretty spot on for the most part.

Granted the whole interview is a lot longer and with multiple people.

 

[LeleSocho]

Tier 3:
Ken (Poland i suppose?)

lolwut
Ken is american.

 

[Rajack]

Talk about pulling something out of your ass. Wow.

That IS what it sounds like they're saying. You can't expect Japanese gamers who were going to buy this console to not be offended by having their country be called "Tier 2". Its like being told you're not good enough for them so you have to wait until they figure out when you've waited long enough for the console.

 

[plainr_]

Poor choice of words.

I expect this to turn into a meme soon.

 

[ElectricKaibutsu]

Well I guess it's noteworthy that the original interview is in Japanese. Something lost in translation etc.

Funny because it looks like he said tier in English:

日本はXboxの展開においてTier 2（≒優先順位2番手）であり，Tier 1（≒最優先）にはなっていません。

Edit: beaten of course

 

[FeiRR]

Good, send those consoles to Europe.

We still have plenty of dusty X360 boxes lying around.

 

[PuppetSlave]

Sorry but don't see the huge problem, tier, wave, phase, whatever. Feels more like people are trying to get offended over this, imo.

 

[Busty]

Tier 2? I'm sure such wording is perfectly fine within the confines of the division (business speak and so on) but to such phrasing with a journalist is ludicrous.

What the fuck is going on over at MS?! It's just one fuck up after another over there.

 

[cyberheater]

He'd have been better of saying wave.

Ist wave, second wave etc... It's not so loaded.

 

[Hindle]

Focus the marketing machine on everywhere else. At they're least they're smart enough to release JPN is a spent force.

 

[Varth]

God God, they just can't get a single statement right these days.

 

[Into]

lolwut
Ken is american.

I wasent writing their nationalities, but importance of markets for MS compared to tiers in SSF2T =P

 

[plagiarize]

Sorry but don't see the huge problem, tier, wave, phase, whatever. Feels more like people are trying to get offended over this, imo.

tiers infer superiority. waves and phases do not.

 

[michaelius]

At the rate they are going i see a lot of exciting discussion in MC threads about whether X One can outsell X1 there

 

[Blueblur1]

Oh man, that is funny.

 

[sense]

For those customers we have the xbox 360

you missed the key word "fortunately"

 

[BlazingDarkness]

Japan - ' We don't want to buy a Tier 2 console'

 

[Parakeetman]

Tier 2? I'm sure such wording is perfectly fine within the confines of the division (business speak and so on) but to such phrasing with a journalist is ludicrous.

What the fuck is going on over at MS?! It's just one fuck up after another over there.

 

[tino]

So 2nd tier is yellow countries, got it.

 

[V_Arnold]

As someone who cares about japanese developers and their games, this just made Xbox One Tier 3 for me.

...except if it is all a huge misdirection, and the tiers go WoW-style, meaning that Tier 1 countries get it WORSE than Tier 2 countries. North-Korea's Tier 5 launch will be the strongest one ever?

 

[$h@d0w]

Mattrick's influence cannot be escaped, even after his passing to Zynga.

 

[SmokyDave]

This really shouldn't ruffle feathers, it's just straight talking. Japan isn't exactly snatching consoles up and it's sure as fuck a tier 2 market for Microsoft. I don't blame them for concentrating their efforts where they're actually wanted. Both Sony & MS should focus on the west at launch.

 

[Manmademan]

This probably won't even break a million units in Japan since MS probably won't try to get exclusive JRPGs for the system like they did 360.

nope. Japan was a failed experiment for them- they got crushed there even after spending a LOT of money. They're even writing off half of europe in the initial launch for no clear reason.

It's obvious that with the media functions, etc that this console is designed with the US and UK in mind, and everything else is just a bonus including japan.

 

[CTLance]

Euro-American master race getting consoles before low-tier Japanese gamers? Oh boy.

That's yet another critical fumble on the diplomatic table. Whatever it is that makes feet so delicious-looking to MS people nowadays, it appears to be highly infectious.

And country agnostic.

....unlike the 180.

Ahyuck.

 

[Walshicus]

tiers infer superiority. waves and phases do not.

In English, yes. I don't know enough (any) Japanese to know whether the same applies there.

 

[Feorax]

Ok, if you're hard faced enough to declare Japan a tier 2 country, then why not do what we've all been thinking and just not bother launching there at all?

 

[sleepykyo]

As part of the interview Microsoft Japan President and CEO Yasuyuki Higuchi confirmed that the Xbox One won’t land on the Japanese shelves any time soon.

"For the launch of Xbox One Japan is a Tier 2 country and not a Tier 1 country, so it’ll come with the second wave, that will be delayed a little bit [compared to North America]."

There had to have been a better way to phrase it.

 

[Sendou]

It's not that they consider it a less important market and they need to concentrate their money and business on other countries first, but you don't go around calling countries "Tier 2" when you have costumers there waiting for your console, that's kinda insulting even if they didn't intend it, and that's the issue here

Well the way I see it is I don't understand how Japanese gamers could be offended about Japan not being the top priority after 360 happened. It's fairly logical and I still don't understand what's so offensive about saying this country is not in Tier 1 in our launch order.

 

[Raoh]

LMFAO

Should have been the first response

It's not that they consider it a less important market and they need to concentrate their money and business on other countries first, but you don't go around calling countries "Tier 2" when you have costumers there waiting for your console, that's kinda insulting even if they didn't intend it, and that's the issue here

Exactly.

All Sony has to do now is actually release this year in Japan and pretty much the X180 is gonna be dead on the water when it eventually launches. Esp with the fact its going to cost more too.

This.

It would be funny to see the Xbox 360 go down in history beating the Xbox One in Japan in LTD sales.

 

[marc^o^]

Mattrick's influence cannot be escaped, even after his passing to Zynga.

Besides, I heard Zynga is hiring.

 

[BGBW]

They have divorced

 

[andregnreis]

Quick, lets post anti Xbox news and make it look like Japan is a Tier 2 country because it sucks not because its not a good market for Microsoft!

 

[casmith07]

Magnificent PR over and over again.

 

[Jintor]

A) It's probably a good POV from a corporate point of view.

B) Yo figure out a nicer way to break the news...

 

[Apath]

With how well the XBOX brand sells in Japan, I'm surprised they even bother giving Japan a classification.

tiers infer superiority. waves and phases do not.

Well Japan is certainly an inferior market for Microsoft.

 

[inner-G]

More like e-kuso box, amirite?

 

[Feindflug]

Good, send those consoles to the Tier 1 countries of Europe.

Fixed.

Who would've thought that MS will screw up so bad here in Europe, I don't get all this selected/tier BS launch thing, many European countries are "tier 2" for them and we don't even know when the damn thing will be out here...my prediction is that the 360 will be considered a big success when compared to how the xbone will do here.

Europe is already a Sonyland, PS4 will completely destroy the xbone here.