14 DAY TRIAL // The free version of Minesweeper for Windows Phone, an Xbox LIVE enhanced title, is available for download worldwide as of today, August 24th, 2011.
The move comes after Microsoft initially introduced the ad-supported versions Minesweeper and Sudoku on the Windows Phone Market place only for users in the United States earlier this month.
It appears that the Redmond company was hit by a wave of negative feedback from Windows Phone owners, input that catalyzed a change of heart.
Customers with WP7 devices in Brazil and Korea will still not be able to get either version of the casual games, but the vast majority of users will start seeing Minesweeper appear in their localized flavor of Windows Phone marketplace, promised Microsoft’s Michael Stroh.
But even if available internationally, Minesweeper is still offered in English only, at least for the time being.
“It’s no secret that two weeks ago when we announced Minesweeper and another free ad-supported game, Sudoku, many of you who live elsewhere were disappointed to learn they were U.S. only titles. A few folks were downright mad, and questioned our international aspirations and commitment,” Stroh said.
“We took notice. You see, a lot of time is spent here working on ways to get our phone and apps in the hands of more people around the world (for evidence, see here and here), so your reaction struck a chord.”
Stroh stressed that bringing content internationally is not as simple a process as it might appear.
But it’s good to see that Microsoft is willing to go the extra mile it takes to tend to customers that purchased Windows Phone devices, regardless of their location.
“It’s not that we don’t want to have worldwide consumer releases,” John Dongelmans, a director of Xbox LIVE games marketing and one of the early responders, told me. “But in some cases we face challenges due to feature availability and licensing restrictions.”
The promise from Dongelmans said is that Minesweeper is only the first in a line of Xbox LIVE titles for Windows Phone which will be offered to an as broad as possible audience in the future.
Users who guessed that Sudoku for Windows Phone will follow Minesweeper need to know that they’re right.