[UPDATE] Xbox One will only support voice commands in a handful of countries at launch

By Michael Archambault
last updated

Xbox, encienda… Xbox, accendere… Xbox, on.

Users in many foreign countries won’t be able to command their Xbox One via voice command this November when the console launches. Sources are beginning to report that the fine print on Microsoft’s website (you know, that little bit of text you never read) states that the voice command feature will be limited to only a few areas at launch.

"Xbox voice commands will not be available in all markets on the product release date. Voice commands will be available at launch in US, UK, CA, FR, and DE."

If you are outside any of the aforementioned regions listed above – you are out of luck. Microsoft recently stated that the “Xbox One is Kinect” and that the two pieces of hardware are one and the same. If Kinect is so tied into the operating system, then how can such a large number of launching countries including Australia, Austria, Brazil, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Spain, and New Zealand, be left out?

How does this affect your purchasing decision for the Xbox One?

Bonus Question: What languages are the first two statements of this article written in (and did Bing translate work correctly)?

UPDATE: Microsoft Director of Product Planning, Albert Penello, has provided details on Xbox One's voice recognition at launch. As with most situations thus far, it is a bit complex; Xbox One will launch in 13 territories in November - 10 of those territories "will support some voice features". Eight language in total will be supported including English US, English UK, French, Spanish MX, Spanish ES, Italian, German, and Portuguese. As of now, we aren't sure what features will be available in what countries, but Albert did state that "Xbox, On" is "only available in five". We will continue to update you as we learn more. Thanks to Jason for the tip.

Source: NeoGaf via GameTrailers

72 Comments
  • So much for this AWESOME Kinect everyone's defending
  • Oh please go away troll
  • No ones trolling just alot if opinions
  • +1
  • You can still use gestures bonehead.
    Much like responding to rodneyej. I have no idea what he's saying but I can always gesture to him, and I usually only need one finger.
  • Oh my.
  • Spanish and French?
  • Actually guessing Spanish and Portuguese but I suppose we really should just put it into Bing Translate. lol
  • But those countries will come with the exclusive Xbox One Rosetta Stone app.
  • French is there, Spanish is not
  • Wrong. It's Spanish and Italian.
  • My mistake, I thought he didn't read the article and was asking if those two languages were included. I myself didn't read the bottom of the article where the question was asked LOL Ironic eh.
  • Looking at those countries, could it be a regulatory issue of some sorts?
  • If it were regulatory issues, then Germany wouldn't be on there :D
  • I hope that's the issue because I don't see why else you wouldn't make sure every country you sell your product too has the same features and what if someone even in the U.S. wanted to speak their native language vs heavy accented English... just a thought
  • Thats why they delayed lunch of Xbox one for countries on the list to get language pack ready and working properly
  • Whatever the reason, it makes no sense. I speak all three of those languages, two of them accent free, but I don't live in one of the supported countries, so I'm being denied a feature I could use just fine. With Xbox video and music I understand that country specific licensing issues are involved, but this is ridiculous. Xbox video is similarly crippled, as it insists that I must view all movies in German, while I insist on viewing movies in the original language or not at all. This BS is how MS lost me as a Xbox movie customer. Considering how freely people move around the world, particularly within the EU, tying any feature to national boarders is complete BS, and forcing the use of specific languages based on those boarders is the stupidest idea ever. It may be hard for an American company to comprehend, but the languages I speak has nothing to do with the national boarders within which I live! This is one of the issues that could push me off MS consumer products. Not the Xbox speech recognition restriction specifically, but their country/language policies in general. Europe is not the U.S. Most people here speak at least two languages, even those that are considered less educated.
  • The X1 is region free, and its features are not ip or region blocked. Chances are you can use the supported languages, its just that the other languages won't be supported. You could always just change region like on the 360 if it gave you grief over using supported voice language
  • Xbox video is not region free. It is deactivated if you live in a country where MS doesn't have the rights to distribute media. Where you live also determines other things, like the availability of WP's audio recognition feature or local scout.
    How does MS determine where you live? That is based on the immutable country code of your MS account.
    The reasons why MS deactivates a specific feature are often (not always) understandable and acceptable. What isn't acceptable is that MS sometimes uses that same country code to guess what language you prefer. As a result, Xbox video insists on serving me Hollywood flicks in German, despite my OS and all language settings being U.S English.
    According to this article, the availabllity of this voice command feature is also based on where you live. I assume that is linked to the same immutable country code, meaning that I speak accent free english is of no concern. The feature will be deactivated anyway. That is how WPC is reporting it. I hope you are right and WPC is wrong, but I'm not holding my breath.
    What gets me is not the likely innavailability of this specific feature in my region, but that MS just can't get their head around the fact that country of residence and language preferences aren't direclty related, and that they get it wrong time and time again.
  • Calm down...
    I'm positive more languages will come...
     
    Would you be happy if they released it for your native language but it didn't work very well?  I'd rather they make it perfect before they release it.
    You obviously speak English so get off your high horse and have some patience....or just don't buy the damn thing...but for f**ks sake just relax
  • Okay lipper, next time read more carefully. You completely missed the point. I'm fine if MS never releases voice command recognition for my native language. I'm not asking for more languages.
    My point is that MS can't ditch their backward thinking when it comes to language preferences. They always return to the assumption that where you live has a role to play. It doesn't. I speak multiple languages and I've lived and worked in a few countries.
    Imagine you were to move to Austria (just an example). You take your newly purchased Xbox one with you and ask MS to change your MS account to "Austria", so you are offered the local app deals and country specific apps in the app store. That takes MS about a month to do, during which you can constantly use the Xbox One voice command feature. On the day that MS changes your Account from U.S. to Austria, that is the day voice commands stop working for you, because the feature is tied to a country, not to you and your language preferences.That is what is screwed up.
     
  • They aren't tying features to national borders on purpose. Microsoft is tied to national borders. Its almost definitely is a regulatory thing. Possibly the back end isn't ready but I doubt that is it.
  • I don't understand why Ireland is not included. We speak English like everyone in the UK. We have voice commands on Xbox 360! Does this means I have to switch back to Xbox 360 to enjoy the full controller-free experience?
  • You don't speak it like everyone else though, you have Irish accents. It's like my phone often gets me wrong cos I'm Scottish. They haven't got very good regional dialects working.
  • But Germany isn't any better at dialects.
     
    It will be hilarious to see Bavarians use the thing.
  • Sure we may give up now, still dont have voice on WP8 in Ireland unless we say we live in the UK... or on wp7... I'm going to place my bets on the fact we wont get voice.... ever... so the media box idea is out.... and for the people who say gestures.... how do i ask for a channel through gestures? or pause or the game dvr by voice? without the voice your back to your remote as why would you wave your arms instead of that...  
  • Northern Ireland is part of the UK is it not? Microsoft is probably including all of Ireland into the UK region for its purposes
  • It will work but won't work for Gaelic or Celtic languages...if you speak English it will work That is unless you are a Geordie....no one understands WTF they say...lol
  • Shouldn't launch in any country where the experience is not complete, period.
  • I completely disagree. I would be pissed if I had to wait for an XBox just because it was missing a feature that I may not even use. Voice support can be added with a software update when it's ready.
  • Language and country are not necessarily related. Many people from the U.K. and the U.S come to work in Switzerland, but they don't suddenly forget how to speak English. The area in and around Zürich (a Swiss city with a population of 1 million), is now home to approx. 400'000 Germans that still speak mostly dialect free high German. Switzerland alone has 4 official languages. Deciding on the 'readyness' of a speech recognition system, based on national boarders is completely ridiculous. Many Americans find it hard to comprehend the extent to which languages transcend national boarders, particularly within the EU, but a supposedly international organization like MS should have a better grasp of it.
  • Delaying X1 purchase!!
    **********************************
    Spanish and Italian? 
  • Norwegian and Afrikaans?
  • Afrikaans?? :P lewe jy in suid afrika ?? :D
  • Oh boy!
  • Canada? Of course not....
  • Canada is one of the launch countries for voice, "Xbox voice commands will not be available in all markets on the product release date. Voice commands will be available at launch in US, UK, CA, FR, and DE."
  • So obviously I can't read..... =)
  • Reading is obsolete ... Telepathy is where it's at.
  • But Can't i choose to speak english?
     
    I'm from Brazil, but I can't use it in other languages? the function will be locked?
     
    Not cool!
  • This is what I was wondering about I don't think it's fair that you can't set the language you want to speak because it might not pick up the commands due to accents
  • Judging by WP, I bought mine in turkey on contract. Reset the device and am using,it,I'm English. Also mylive address is based in UK. Can use all voice commands etc. Normally not available in turkish/turkey
    no hacks etc.
  • in the first line is spanish and italian :)
  • *DING DING* Winner! :)
  • Then why not release it in Sweden etc? They said they postponed these countries because of this very reason, and if it is not gonna work anyway, just fucking let me use it in English and make purchases in the Swedish Xbox Store. Geez!
  • Thanks to SevenDead1ySinz, everything makes sense again. http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=79001409&postcount=520 My guess is that the so called 180 has a lot to do with them being behind schedule with there software development. Online DRM > Disc DRM.
  • Really they will support German and not Spanish one of the most talked language in the world.... Please its ridiculous
  • "widely spoken", not "talked". No offense, just so you know, I assure you my Spanish is a million times worse than your English.
  • Spanish is more spoken than German as far I know. German is from Germany, and Spanish... Spain, Latin America, Mexico...
  • Well, German is not only spoken in Germany. Austria and Switzerland, Lichtenstein and I think some parts of French are speaking German. In Europe it is the most spoken language, if I'm not wrong.
  • So Mexico gets its own region?
  • I don't even know why WP8 doesn't Support Spanish (Mexico) to send SMSs, so I use Spanish (Spain) or English depending of my mood. Good that everyones knows English.
  • Never understood why MS is so horrible on their own products (hw+soft) on global scale. It was the same with original kinect, Zune, Xbox/Zune music, Surface with the release taking much over 5 months till its release outside couple of European countries.
     
    At least with Nokia Windows Phone marketplace sarted extending immediatly and more languages were brought. Nokia Music was also available in more countries on its launch compared to years of Zune pass and later on Xox music service.
     
    They can't win the game this way. Xbox One wont be a huge fail, but this gen will be Playstation's. 360 and PS3 had about equal sales in the end because of its dominance in Japan and light edge in Europe. PS4 will dominate Europe hard this gen.
     
     
  • Microsoft always phuck-up shit. How many years pass between Xbox 360 Launch & the Xbox One? And still they're not done with software? Thought Microsoft was a software company. Anywho, I've already preordered my Xbox One and is looking forward to playing some exciting games like FIFA 14, RYSE: Son of Rome, Watch Dogs & Dead Rising 3 (for my daughter).
  • How the fuck is Spanish not available. It was one of the first with the original Kinect.
  • I wonder if you will be able to speak in English on non-english accounts. Currently, on the XBox 360, you can't use English voice commands on non-english accounts even if voice commands aren't supported for your region. 
     
    It's quite an annoyng state of affairs because my girlfriend's account is Danish (as is she), and mine English. She can use the English voice controlls just fine when we are signed into my account, but when signed into hers neither of us can use English.
     
    It's not really a make or break decision but when they are selling this interactive experience it makes people talking up the XBox one a bit silly when a big chunk of Microsoft's marketing isn't relevant to all but a handful of launch countries.
  • Isn't this stance the reason why they fall behind in other countries? Its not that they should step back because other countries (specifically Asia) don't dig Xbox. Its the lack of appeal and backward stance that pushes them away. X1 won't be available to certain countries until next year. You really expect them to pick one up after that? Good luck!
  • What the hell... It really sucks! Only 5 countries of the whole world? Microsoft is dissapointing me. Sadly for many companies such that one US or Europe are the entire globe. Nothing to Latin America as usual. And not only Xbox, I mean, Xbox music service, complete Bing operations, voice control in WP, podcasts, lots of apps only available in US... Microsoft is enemy of Latins or what? Xbox is losing characteristics for the big price is gonna cost.
  • I'm midly annoyed because that lack of interest but at least with WP; Nokia has good an aweome job filling a lot of gaps.
  • I can't tell about the correct translation of the first one, but I know the second one is correct. Btw it's Spanish and Italian...none of those are having voice control at launch though.
  • Bing translate is owfull, im reading messages in tweeter
  • Microsoft better bring voice control to Dutchland on launch day whenever that is. It's already delayed here, so no more excuses!
  • Whatever the reason, it makes no sense. I speak all three of those languages, two of them accent free, but I don't live in one of the supported countries, so I'm being denied a feature I could use just fine. With Xbox video and music I understand that country specific licensing issues are involved, but this is ridiculous. Xbox video is similarly crippled, as it insists that I must view all movies in German, while I insist on viewing movies in the original language or not at all. This BS is how MS lost me as a Xbox movie customer. Considering how freely people move around the world, particularly within the EU, tying any feature to national boarders is complete BS, and forcing the use of specific languages based on those boarders is the stupidest idea ever. Apparently, MS is incapable of understanding this issue, but the languages I speak has nothing to do with the national boarders within which I live! This is one of the issues that could push me off MS consumer products. Not the Xbox speech recognition restriction specifically, but their country/language policies in general. Europe is not the U.S. Most people here speak at least two languages, even those that are considered less educated.
  • Does't matter... im from mexico and i dont have problem whit this... i can use my poor english :) kijiiji
     
    Remember... it's not only 5 countries... its the 5 languajes more used in the world....
  • Doesn't affect me at all, I can just use English for the time being (I have UK's account anyway). Still, it will be fun to see voice commands on Russian.
  • So will it not work elsewhere? Or will it be like WP where I can use UK English as my voice input? Surely they could just default other English speaking countries to one of US or UK English, then when the full language support is there change it over. Pretty sure most of us Australians can do a pretty decent pommy accent.
  • The footnote on Xbox.com only lists countries available, doesn't say languages available... We are just assuming that only English, French, and German would ve available as a result
  • I just tweeted this to Michael, Albert Penello updated on GAF, 10 countries will have voice features at launch, not 5 (only 5 will be able to use the Xbox On command apparently). 8 languages are supported:, EN (US), EN(UK), ES (SP), ES (MX), FR, German, Itallian, and Portugeuse. http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=79001409&postcount=520
  • Thanks buddy! Everything makes sense again:)
  • For other languages, spécial announcement : learn english with Xbox one... Easy and fast method with kinect exclusive include ;)
  • Seems pretty clear they've focussed on the biggest markets, since they are a business.
  • I wonder how long I have to wait till I will be able to tell my Xbox One: "Xbox, kapcsolj be!" Probably till 2020 or so :D Well, maybe the next Xbox then. Maybe...