When Microsoft launched their Xbox One back in 2013, the number of markets the console initially went out to was 13. This was versus the original list of 21 countries that Microsoft had announced earlier in 2013. Well the good news is that Xbox One gamers looking forward to the console in their country is that according to a rumor spotted on the NeoGAF forums, it would seem that Microsoft will be expanding the Xbox One’s launch to additional countries in 2014. it will be done in two phases, with the first phase taking place in April, and the second phase of rollout will be taking place in October, where they will expand to 13 and 15 more markets respectively.
So does your country make the list? Assuming this is true, starting in April, those living in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Russia, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Colombia, Chile, and Argentina will be able to get their hands on the Xbox One. For those not in the list, hopefully your country makes the cut in October, which includes China, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Greece, Portugal, Slovakia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, the UAE, Israel, India, Indonesia, and Egypt. It’s actually interesting that China is mentioned because it was just recently that China announced a temporary lift on consoles being banned in the country.
Prior to this and for a little over a decade, consoles were banned from being sold in China as the government was worried it might corrupt their youth. However despite the ban being lifted, China is expected to impose a series of guidelines that console manufacturers and developers need to fulfil in order to sell their consoles and games in the country. In any case take it with a grain of salt for now, but hopefully we will be hearing an official announcement soon.