X-Box delays and extra costs for Europe?

Will Knight ZDNet.co.uk

Published: 10 Mar 2000 17:24 GMT

British gamers could face delays in getting an X-Box console, and many will have to fork out extra for a peripheral modem, it emerged at Friday's UK announcement.

When questioned on whether there will be a simultaneous, global release of the X-Box at the end of next year's launch, general manager for the X-Box platform, J Allard, told ZDNet: "We're not talking about our launch plans at this point. The first consumer shipment and first retail product will be end of year 2001, but we're not talking about regions yet."

European consumers have traditionally had to wait longer than the Japanese and American markets for the latest technology. The PlayStation2, for example, is already available in Japan, but isn't due to reach Europe until December. An extra wait for the X-Box may encourage many people to plump for another console instead next Christmas.

The X-Box won't ship with a modem either, because it is aimed mainly at users with broadband Internet access. While broadband will be rolled out in this country shortly before the end of next year, adoption will arguably be minimal, meaning that gamers will be forced to pay extra for a peripheral modem in order to play games online when using the console.

Find more X-Box news on GameSpot.

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