NEWS - Thursday, August 29, 2013
MS on Xbox One's delayed launch in Europe: "It's Kinect's fault"
According to Microsoft’s head of product development, Albert Penello, the console’s delay is due to Kinect voice-control localisation rather than supply issues.
"People assume there’s a volume issue which in fact there isn’t," Penello told OXM. "You’re actually seeing pre-orders pop back up now because we’re able to allocate the countries’ volume back in.
"It’s there, the problem is localisation. And once people see the system and how integral it is, it’s not just text integration."
Penello explains that the Kinect’s voice-control features are more "elegant" on Xbox One than they are on Xbox 360.
"I think people are using the way [voice] works on Xbox 360, which was an accessory we built five years after release, as how it’s going to work here," he said.
"But it’s so much more elegant and so much more integrated, and in many ways it’s a lot faster and more convenient. Whereas on Xbox 360 it’s a lesser version of doing the thing you’re used to doing on your controller."
Microsoft announced earlier this month that the Xbox One launch has been pushed back to 2014 in eight countries, including Russia, Sweden and Norway, among others.
Meanwhile, rumours emerged yesterday that the Xbox One is set for a November 8 launch , which will see it release a full week before the PlayStation 4.
Source: http://www.computerandvideogames.com
