Recommended Posts

That only works if there's no other reason for the delay, which I'm betting there is.   You're going to completely neglect the possibility that there are legit reasons for the delays and just cough it up to lack of commitment?   That makes no business sense to say the least.

I'm sure there are logistical reasons but at the end of the day Sony has a much better international distribution model. As we can see with the X360, Microsoft has never done very well in Japan and having a one year delay on the XB1 isn't going to help matters. At the moment Microsoft is alienating customers by having such a delay.

 

Hehe. It shortens to TAC4U.

 

Sounds good :)

 

That only works if there's no other reason for the delay, which I'm betting there is.   You're going to completely neglect the possibility that there are legit reasons for the delays and just cough it up to lack of commitment?   That makes no business sense to say the least.

 

George, TAC4U is right on this one to my opinion. A one year gap is very 90's, you just can't do stuff like that if you care about customers in affected markets. What legit reason could they have? Supply? Sony has the same constraints. Better announce official availability and then say oops sorry no stock than try to be honest and say "oh you have to wait one year for the privilege of paying for it while TIER 1 markets already have it". That's just insulting ,especially since they skipped markets where 360 is a huge success.

 

I do agree with you George that the Xbox in Japan jokes are played. Not only are they played, but they're not that true, plus they're often applied to all of Asia, which is just ridiculous.

 

Either way, MS should have done what Sony did in terms of global release, as it stands they just came across as dismissive and even prejudiced for no good reason. The majority of people want the console for games and can wait until Kinect voice support is added to their language or the local equivalent of Netflix comes onboard.

Sounds good :)

 

 

George, TAC4U is right on this one to my opinion. A one year gap is very 90's, you just can't do stuff like that if you care about customers in affected markets. What legit reason could they have? Supply? Sony has the same constraints. Better announce official availability and then say oops sorry no stock than try to be honest and say "oh you have to wait one year for the privilege of paying for it while TIER 1 markets already have it". That's just insulting ,especially since they skipped markets where 360 is a huge success.

 

I do agree with you George that the Xbox in Japan jokes are played. Not only are they played, but they're not that true, plus they're often applied to all of Asia, which is just ridiculous.

 

Either way, MS should have done what Sony did in terms of global release, as it stands they just came across as dismissive and even prejudiced for no good reason. The majority of people want the console for games and can wait until Kinect voice support is added to their language or the local equivalent of Netflix comes onboard.

 

I don't know what all the reasons are, but they are there, it's clear really, the key point I brought up is that the delay doesn't show a lack of commitment or that they're not taking the market seriously.  If they have supply issues or channel issues or even software issues, then you'll have a delay.   And trying to sell something where say, half of the features, don't work and you have little content that interests that market as well doesn't help either.  What good does it do to sell it and just have it sit waiting for content to sell it?  I mean look at the Wii U, look at the boost it got just from Mario Kart 8.    Those systems were just sitting there, no one was buying them until some game they wanted for it was out, otherwise why rush to spend your money?

 

At least when the technical and or logistical problems are worked out and it's in all those markets on September then it'll have the content to help sell it as well, making it easier to sell.

I don't know what all the reasons are, but they are there, it's clear really, the key point I brought up is that the delay doesn't show a lack of commitment or that they're not taking the market seriously.  If they have supply issues or channel issues or even software issues, then you'll have a delay.   And trying to sell something where say, half of the features, don't work and you have little content that interests that market as well doesn't help either.  What good does it do to sell it and just have it sit waiting for content to sell it?  I mean look at the Wii U, look at the boost it got just from Mario Kart 8.    Those systems were just sitting there, no one was buying them until some game they wanted for it was out, otherwise why rush to spend your money?

 

At least when the technical and or logistical problems are worked out and it's in all those markets on September then it'll have the content to help sell it as well, making it easier to sell.

 

But everyone i know in the markets where X1 was pushed back a year just wanted to play Ryse, Forza 5 etc. And most of them ended up importing a console anyway. They couldn't care less about having no video streaming services or whatnot. The content is the games, that's what people wanted. MS refused to see that and used it as a reason, thinking it would come across as legit. But for the millions of 360 users who were waiting patiently to upgrade it just seems like they were passed over and treated like second rate. I don't mean to divert the topic or start a new argument, but the one year delay was not a good move on the part of MS any way you look at it.

 

The only upside is that those who were asked to wait a year get a more updated system plus the choice if a lower entry price...but most true loyalists would have taken the earlier release, i'm sure.

 But for the millions of 360 users who were waiting patiently to upgrade it just seems like they were passed over and treated like second rate.

 

I don't understand how delaying the release of a console equates to this. Pretty big leap. I'm sure if Microsoft had no reason to hold the console back then they wouldn't. It's not like they don't want to sell it.

I don't understand how delaying the release of a console equates to this. Pretty big leap. I'm sure if Microsoft had no reason to hold the console back then they wouldn't. It's not like they don't want to sell it.

 

Not to be offensive but you don't understand because it's not something that affected you. What's so hard to get? You're all ready to spend your money and the people you want to exchange it with tell you wait a year while we serve these customers first. It's not different than being told to wait outside a bar, club, or restaurant. Who likes a line when all you want to do is pay for something you enjoy and want to support? It's the same thing.

 

While i got mine while visiting family in the states, i live in a place that wasn't "tier 1" so it's only Sept. I know many people here and in other places that are avid 360 gamers and wanted an X1 day one, a year is too much. They really don't care what reason MS has for this, there's no valid reason for a year. Three months, even six, ok maybe. Ten months is too much and the way MS leaders worded it was not the best either. Not to mention MS played right into Sony's hands by limiting deployment.

  • Like 1

Not to be offensive but you don't understand because it's not something that affected you.

 

What does this even mean? So... unless I'm affected by something I can't comment? Interesting point. So I guess by that definition, you can't comment either since it didn't effect you.

 

Honestly, I don't think you really believe that in order to relate to gamers as a gamer I have to be in their specific circumstances to grasp the idea of being in it myself. If I lived in Japan, sure it would be stupid. But I'm not grabbing my pitchfork over it, nor am I going to think I'm a "second rate" customer because I'm getting something later.

 

If that were true, then Japan thinks the other markets are "second rate" on a regular basis with Japanese game titles, often taking 1-2 years to release them in other markets. Or I guess Sony thought their own country was second rate when releasing their console later than in the US. This claim is just trying to fan flames that don't even exist.

 

I'm surprised so many people are ready to jump to the conclusion that they are just trying to be make them miserable and that their actions are that of a kid frying ants with a magnifying glass. They'd rather think that than try to understand that the world doesn't revolve around themselves and what's convenient to them at the time.

What does this even mean? So... unless I'm affected by something I can't comment? Interesting point. So I guess by that definition, you can't comment either since it didn't effect you.

 

Honestly, I don't think you really believe that in order to relate to gamers as a gamer I have to be in their specific circumstances to grasp the idea of being in it myself. If I lived in Japan, sure it would be stupid. But I'm not grabbing my pitchfork over it, nor am I going to think I'm a "second rate" customer because I'm getting something later.

 

If that were true, then Japan thinks the other markets are "second rate" on a regular basis with Japanese game titles, often taking 1-2 years to release them in other markets. Or I guess Sony thought their own country was second rate when releasing their console later than in the US. This claim is just trying to fan flames that don't even exist.

 

I'm surprised so many people are ready to jump to the conclusion that they are just trying to be make them miserable and that their actions are that of a kid frying ants with a magnifying glass. They'd rather think that than try to understand that the world doesn't revolve around themselves and what's convenient to them at the time.

 

You are reading my tone completely wrong, i meant you can't really understand the situation because it didn't happen to you. You can sympathize, but in this case you choose not to, as you think it's not a big deal. Don't make it about some sort of entitlement thing - that would be expecting MS to give people Xbox for free. We're talking about active paying customers who were never given a reason for this delay.

 

And yes, Sony definitely treated their home user base as second rate, and Japanese developers/publishers definitely consider "Western" markets as not worth the bother and cost of releasing many titles. Sony most definitely regarded non-Japanese markets as secondary to Japan until PS3, which is why the PS4 launching in Japan four months later was quite a surprise.

 

I'm not trying to fan any flames, surprised that you think something like that. I didn't say MS tried to make anyone miserable or that they are evil, but they were incompetent with the release schedule and offended many long standing customers. If you don't understand why a delayed product might offend existing customers, then you either really lack empathy or are very relaxed, and that i would really envy.

 

Let's not argue over this, you don't agree - but as i said, it's easy to dismiss feelings and ideas that we don't feel personally affect us. And you were not personally affected by the one year delay in the X1 release schedule. Sure the world didn't grind to a halt, but we are in a gaming section. Honestly if you told me you were a fan of hobby X and brand Y decided to skip your market for a year i would never ask you why are you angry, why are you so self entitled. I'd totally understand.

  • Like 1

I agree with Neo, there is definitely a mindset that the tier 2 countries are less important and it effects far more products than just the X1 or PS4. Many of the EU countries which X1 isn't in yet actually have great English speaking skills and many of them would choose to use it in that locale, instead of their native language. It sometimes looks worse on MS' part when it comes to Xbox Live features, especially true when you look back to the reveal last year and you see how many people outside of the US lost interest within minutes of the show starting. When everything is made for 1 country and the rest of us are forgotten about, it stings and people go elsewhere.

 

There obviously wasn't a delay in production as the US was flooded with X1 supply. I seriously doubt logistics are the issue seeing as the consoles are made in Asia. They don't ship them to US and back to Japan again when they roll out their support. Localisation has been the most common excuse it comes back to. For EU it's not much of an issue like I said, in Asia it is. Sony are able to do it much faster being that they're from the region and the languages are probably processed faster with experience. MS don't have the luxury nor the game lineup to accommodate the taste. Even PS4's was light on content that appeals to them beside a few titles like Yakuza IIRC. Why they chose to skip Japan is again rumour but most believe because the market has shrunk there and the war is won in US/EU.

This isn't bad news for PS4, it's good news for Wii U, and much deserved. Really wish i could afford a Wii U right now. Love that console.

 

Gotta do it when you can man. Wii U + PC is such a good combo right now. You got your multiplayer and proper next gen gfx, and you got nintendo exclusives and polished and perfect gameplay - you couldn't wish for anything else! 

  • Like 1

Gotta do it when you can man. Wii U + PC is such a good combo right now. You got your multiplayer and proper next gen gfx, and you got nintendo exclusives and polished and perfect gameplay - you couldn't wish for anything else! 

 

Yep. I really need nothing else.

Looks like the Wii U outsold everything in Japan (almost 3 times more than the PS4). But what's surprising is even the PS3 outsold the PS4 by a small margin.

Wii U 19,312

3DS LL 18,776

Vita 12,859

PS3 6,922

PS4 6,508

3DS 4,957

PSP 1,421

Vita TV 1,098

Xbox 360 225

Number 1 selling game was Mario kart 8 with 325,892 copies, followed by Gundam Side Stories (PS3) with 82,048 copies, and some Japanese 3DS game with 36,868 copies.

http://www.4gamer.net/games/117/G011794/20140604091/

Gotta do it when you can man. Wii U + PC is such a good combo right now. You got your multiplayer and proper next gen gfx, and you got nintendo exclusives and polished and perfect gameplay - you couldn't wish for anything else! 

 

I know, from my little experience with Wii U at other people's places it's easy to tell it's a great console. ZombiU...pains me not to play that game whenever I want. Not a huge Nintendo exclusive fan, but Mario Kart for sure, pure addiction right there, and there's the inevitable Metroid, which I also don't want to miss as it's going to be good. Plus X, the RPG. Right now i'm tapped, but maybe later in the summer if all goes well i'll be able to afford a lovely Wii U. She's got an HDMI port waiting for her right on my PC monitor as well :D

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Posts

    • Amazon may use OpenAI and Nova models after Anthropic reportedly raises costs by Karthik Mudaliar Amazon is reportedly considering to use OpenAI models and even its own Nova family of AI models after Anthropic raised the cost of using Claude inside Amazon services. According to a report from The Information, Amazon is weighing its options to reduce costs under a new arrangement with Anthropic. But back in April, Amazon said it would invest $5 billion more in Anthropic, with the possibility of adding up to another $20 billion if certain commercial milestones are met. That investment actually came on top of another $8 billion Amazon had already put into the Claude maker. Anthropic, meanwhile, committed to spend more than $100 billion over 10 years on AWS technologies, including Amazon’s Trainium chips. Amazon isn't just a customer of Anthropic but also one of the most important backers and cloud partners. This is why it makes it interesting that Amazon is considering other alternatives to handle its internal workloads. Although Amazon has been building its own options for a while now. Its Nova family of AI models was announced in late 2024 for Amazon Bedrock, with models aimed at text, image, and video tasks. Amazon pitched the model around cost and latency at that time. With that said, OpenAI has also become a more realistic option recently for AWS customers as well as for Amazon itself. Earlier this year, OpenAI brought its latest models and Codex coding agent to Amazon Bedrock, after changes to its previously more restrictive Microsoft cloud arrangement. This allowed AWS to serve even those customers who wanted other alternatives from Claude, without having to move workloads out of Amazon's cloud. Evaluating alternatives could also be due to commercial pressure and not necessarily a sign of a damaged partnership between Amazon and Anthropic. Whether or not Amazon is actually considering switching entirely to OpenAI's models or its own Nova models remains unknown at this moment.
    • Samsung introduces new AI classroom tools and interactive displays at ISTELive 2026 by Fiza Ali Samsung has announced several new education-focused software features and interactive displays for schools during ISTELive 2026, taking place in Orlando, Florida, from 28 June to 1 July. The focus of these updates is on making shared classroom displays easier to use for teachers while giving IT administrators more control over managing devices. One of the key additions is the Samsung Account Management Solution (AMS). In many schools, multiple teachers share the same interactive display throughout the day, which means signing in and setting everything up can become repetitive. With AMS, teachers can log in by scanning a QR code or tapping an NFC-enabled ID card. Once signed in, their personalised workspace, including wallpapers, bookmarks, app shortcuts, and files, can be instantly accessed through Home Personalisation. Samsung has also included a screen lock feature, allowing teachers to lock the display if they need to step away briefly. Furthermore, the company is also updating its Education Portal with new tools designed for school IT administrators. The portal will allow IT administrators to register teachers, enrol devices, and manage user access from a central dashboard. Administrators can also link NFC cards to teacher accounts, making sign-ins quicker across shared displays. Another addition is a Tags feature that lets schools organise displays by building or classroom. Those tags can also be used to send emergency notifications to selected Samsung Interactive Displays through compatible platforms such as InformaCast and Raptor. Moreover, the tech giant's AI Assistant is gaining several new features aimed at supporting everyday classroom tasks such as lesson planning and classroom engagement. One of the features is Circle to Search, which lets teachers circle text or images on the display to quickly find related information, videos, or web results without interrupting the lesson. The content can then be brought into Samsung Whiteboard. Another feature, Live Transcript, converts spoken lessons into real-time captions, which could be useful for students with hearing impairments or those in multilingual classrooms. The AI Assistant also introduces AI Summary and AI Quiz. The summary tool creates summaries of recorded lessons, while AI Quiz generates questions based on lesson content so teachers can quickly check how well students are following along. Teachers signed in through Samsung AMS can also return to their previous AI-generated lesson materials without logging in again. Alongside the software updates, Samsung has expanded its Android-based Interactive Display range with three new models: the WAF-S, WAFX-PS, and WAHX-M. The WAF-S and WAFX-PS ship with Android 16, bringing updates to security, accessibility, and overall usability while maintaining compatibility with Google's education services including Google Classroom and Google Drive through EDLA certification. Meanwhile, the new WAHX-M is the biggest addition to the lineup, introducing a 98-inch display for larger spaces such as lecture halls and conference rooms. It will also be available in 65-inch, 75-inch and 86-inch sizes. Samsung says the WAHX-M further includes on-device AI features such as voice commands, text-to-speech, and an AI calculator, alongside support for Samsung AMS and AI Assistant. Samsung AI Assistant has been available since April, while Samsung AMS and the updated Education Portal will begin rolling out in July.
    • It's been $24 (single) or $89 (4-pack) for many days on both Amazon and Walmart as far as I know. That isn't a big discount. If these end up like the 1st gen, the 4-pack will routinely get down around $80, give or take a dollar. I think they have even hit $69 at times.
    • Microsoft brings Claude to its own Azure infrastructure, powered by Nvidia GB300 Blackwell by Karthik Mudaliar Anthropic's Claude models are now generally available in Microsoft Foundry on Azure and are running on Nvidia's GB300 Blackwell Ultra systems. Nvidia wrote in its announcement that the models are hosted on Microsoft Azure and accelerated by GB300 Blackwell Ultra GPUs, with Quantum-X800 InfiniBand networking used to support larger agentic systems and specialized sub-agents that can operate across business domains. This is great for customers and enterprises that want to build autonomous and domain-specific AI agents using Claude without moving outside Microsoft’s cloud platform. Microsoft currently offers Claude models in Foundry in two forms: “Hosted on Azure,” which runs end-to-end on Azure infrastructure and is generally available, and “Hosted on Anthropic infrastructure,” which remains in preview. This separation is quite important for organizations that have procurement, compliance, data processing, or internal governance requirements tied to Azure. Anthropic currently has 11 Claude models listed in Microsoft Foundry, including Opus 4.8, Sonnet 4.6, and even the unavailable Mythos and Fable models. Billing is handled through Claude Consumption Units (CCUs). Microsoft says CCU is an invoicing unit for Claude models in Foundry, with token usage converted using Anthropic’s published per-model token rates. The usage is billed through Azure Marketplace just like models from other distributors and appears on the customer's Azure invoice, while eligible spend can count against a Microsoft Azure Consumption Commitment. For starters, GB300 NVL72 is a rack-scale, fully liquid-cooled system that combines 72 Blackwell Ultra GPUs and 36 Grace CPUs. Nvidia has listed 37TB of fast memory, 130TB/s of NVLink bandwidth, and FP4 Tensor Core performance of up to 1,440 petaflops with sparsity. The deal is also part of a three-way partnership between Microsoft, Nvidia, and Anthropic. Under the deal, Anthropic has committed to buying $30 billion in Azure compute capacity and contracting additional capacity up to one gigawatt. Nvidia and Microsoft also said they would invest up to $10 billion and $5 billion in Anthropic, respectively.
    • WhatsApp is getting usernames, and you can reserve your preferred one now by Fiza Ali Sharing your phone number isn't always something you want to do, especially with people you've just met. Whether it's someone from a class, a local community group, or a sports team chat, handing over your number can feel like giving away more personal information than necessary. That's exactly the problem WhatsApp is trying to solve with its upcoming usernames feature. The company has announced that users can now reserve a unique WhatsApp username ahead of the feature's wider rollout later this year. Once usernames become available, they'll let people connect without revealing their phone numbers. It's a change that makes a lot of sense for group chats. Right now, everyone in the group can see your phone number. With usernames enabled, that won't necessarily be the case when someone contacts you for the first time. WhatsApp says it's opening username reservations early because more than three billion people use the app, meaning plenty of people are likely to want the same usernames. Reserving one now gives users a better chance of securing the name they actually want before the feature launches more broadly. If your preferred username is already taken, WhatsApp will also offer a built-in username generator to suggest available alternatives. The feature isn't only aimed at individual users. Creators, businesses, and organisations will be able to claim the same username they already use on Instagram or Facebook, making it easier to keep a consistent identity across Meta's apps. Furthermore, privacy is a big part of how WhatsApp is introducing usernames. There won't be a public directory where people can browse or search for usernames. Instead, people will need to know your exact username before they can start a conversation with you. Additionally, users can also choose to enable a username key, which adds another layer of control by requiring people to enter that key before sending a message. Once the feature rolls out, people who choose to use a username will no longer have their phone number shown when messaging a person or business for the first time. If you want to reserve a username, make sure you're running the latest version of WhatsApp, then head to Settings > Account > Username. The tech giant says usernames will roll out gradually over the coming months, and users will receive an in-app notification when the feature becomes available in their country.
  • Recent Achievements

    • Reacting Well
      NovaEdgeX earned a badge
      Reacting Well
    • Week One Done
      NovaEdgeX earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Year In
      BA the Curmudgeon earned a badge
      One Year In
    • Conversation Starter
      rosiecharles earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • First Post
      KMilenkoski1202 earned a badge
      First Post
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      536
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      269
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      150
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      98
    5. 5
      macoman
      65
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!