14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft will launch Windows 8 in Japan on October 26, just like it’ll do in the rest of the world, but this particular market will also get a special DSP edition of the Windows 8 Pro 64-bit version.
The product will come with two anime mascots baptized Madobe Yū and Madobe Ai, with Microsoft to also offer a launch pack comprising a theme pack wallpaper, event sounds and a Microsoft Wedge touch mouse with the Windows 8 logo.
According to Japan Daily Press, the Delivery Service Partner (DSP) version of Windows 8 will be sold for $255 (€197).
The aforementioned event sounds will feature each anime’s voice, with Madobe Yu to use the voice of Asuka Nishi, while Madobe AI will borrow the voice of Nao Tamura.
Surprisingly, Microsoft has some very different plans for the Asian market when it comes to the products it intends to launch this fall.
Both the Windows 8 operating system and the Surface tablet will be unveiled on October 25 in New York, but the Chinese geeks will get a taste of both products on October 23, according to some press invites sent out by Microsoft a few days ago.
While Microsoft hasn’t yet revealed the official reason for the decision of bringing the two products a bit sooner on Chinese soil, it’s generally believed that the Redmond-based technology company is willing to continue its fight against software piracy on the Asian continent.
China is one of the countries with the largest share of pirated software and Microsoft even accused some state-owned corporations of using illegal copies of its software on thousands of workstations.