14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft's next-gen console, the Xbox One, the seventh iteration in the hardware platform series, will be launched in Japan on September 4. The console will be available in two flavors, one bundled with the Kinect and one without it.
The announcement is as official as it gets, coming from Microsoft Japan, revealing both the release date and the cost of the Xbox One, which will go for the equivalent price of the US variant, with the version without the Kinect being priced the same as the PlayStation 4 home entertainment system from Sony.
It was in September last year that the company first announced the Xbox One's launch window in Japan to be sometime during 2014, with Phil Spencer reaffirming Microsoft's commitment to serve the Japanese console market, even though the Xbox One would launch there later than it would in the rest of the world.
At the same time with the console, the company will launch a series of accessories to go along with it: the Xbox One wireless controller, Xbox One Play & Charge Kit, Xbox One voice chat headset, Xbox One Wireless Controller with Play & Charge Kit, Xbox One headset adapter, Xbox One stereo headset, and Xbox One Kinect sensor.
Microsoft has also announced that 48 local game developers have expressed interest in making software for the Xbox One, eager to add more content to the already existing offer.
The games that will be available in Japan for the Xbox One launch are Ryse: Son of Rome, Forza Motorsport 5 and Dead Rising 3, with Quantum Break, Sunset Overdrive and Halo 5: Guardians to be released at a later time and with more to come after the launch.
Microsoft launched the latest generation console on November 22, 2014, in 13 countries across Europe, South and North America, with others following in 2014. In addition to this, the company has announced that the Xbox One launch in September 2014 will reach 26 more countries, further expanding the console's market availability.
Furthermore, the Kinect-less version of the Xbox One will be available starting June 9, offering a more competitive price point for Microsoft's hardware, albeit for what are generally considered inferior specs to the PlayStation 4's.
It will be interesting to follow the Xbox One's trajectory once it launches in the archipelago of the Rising Sun, especially since the PlayStation 4, its main competitor, has the same price tag and a considerable head start, having been launched in Japan on February 22, 2014.