14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is confirming that the speech recognition for the Dutch version of the Xbox One will not be actually ready on launch, despite the fact that the company used it as one of the main reasons for the delay of the console in tier two territories.
The information is quoted by NeoGAF based on a translation offered to a local newspaper in the Netherlands, in which the company says that those who want to use voice commands need to actively switch the language of their device to either English or German.
It’s unclear when Microsoft will deliver support for Dutch commands for the Xbox One, and the company has not made clear statements about language support in other countries.
In all second tier markets the new platform will be offered starting this week and some of them might receive special promotions and local content in order to make it more attractive than the rival PlayStation 4 from Sony.
When the fact that only 13 countries were set to get the Xbox One in November 2014 was revealed, the company said that it needed more time in order to make sure that all the Kinect-linked functionality would be offered for all other markets.
Alberto Penello, the senior director in charge of product management and planning, was quoted as saying that voice integration was important for the entire console experience and that his company had no problems related to actually producing the devices that gamers were to buy.
The current version of the Xbox One no longer includes the Kinect in the base package, because Microsoft has decided to drop it in order to be able to reduce the price to 399 dollars or Euro.
Gamers who want a motion tracking system will be able to get it starting this October for the price of 149 dollars or Euro.
At the moment, there are no major future video games launches designed to focus on the motion tracking or the voice capabilities of Kinect.
Sony has recently announced that the PlayStation 4 has managed to sell more than 10 million units all over the world and Microsoft has not offered a recent update on the number of consoles is has managed to sell.
The launch in second tier countries and the fact that the Xbox One is also coming to the Chinese market might improve its numbers before the end of the year.