Back at the Xbox keynote at E3 Microsoft unveiled the new Xbox One S console, as well as new a “streamlined” controller. The company also announced the Xbox Design Lab, a website where gamers can design their own custom controllers. But now it looks like the Xbox Design Lab won’t be coming to Europe until late 2017.
The Xbox Design Lab (XDL) is a fun, little experiment that allows gamers to choose the colors and styles of their Xbox One controllers. For a few bucks extra users can also engrave their controllers to make sure they have a unique device.
The XDL was quickly hailed as a convenient way for gamers to personalize their consoles a bit more, and get away from the “one bland box for everyone” model, that gaming consoles generally follow. Perhaps the best part of the announcement was the the Xbox Design Lab website went live the very same evening, though custom controllers will only start shipping in August.
Unfortunately, there was one issue that Microsoft glossed over in their original unveiling: would the Xbox Design Lab be available in other markets? Taking a look at Microsoft’s history with this, it’s perhaps not at all surprising that the XDL is only available in the US at launch. But what is surprising, and quite disappointing, is that the company eventually came forth and said that the Xbox Design Lab and the custom controllers won’t be coming to Europe until 2017.
What’s even worse is that the company actually put out a date, saying that the Xbox Design Lab would be showing up sometime in September 2017. That means European customers will need to wait more than a year after the service launched live in the US, and it’s another indication of Microsoft’s complete lack of interest for markets outside of its home country.
The company did not announce pricing or availability of its new controllers in other markets, but with more than a year until launch, we’ve got plenty of time to find out more details.
Via: WinBeta Source: Ars Technica
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