Japan Is “Tier 2″ Country, Xbox One Won’t Launch There In “First Wave”

Xbox One won’t launch in Japan this year because Japan is a “tier 2″ country, so gamers there shouldn’t expect the console anytime soon.

That’s according to Microsoft Japan President and CEO Yasuyuki Higuchi, speaking to 4Gamer in a recent interview.

“For the launch of Xbox One Japan is a Tier 2 country and not a Tier 1 country, so it’ll come with the second wave, that will be delayed a little bit [compared to North America],” he said.

When asked to clarify what he meant, Higuchi reiterated that Japan was “tier 2″, therefore Xbox One won’t be available in the country for the time being.

“That’s right. It’ll launch after the Tier 1 markets,” he stressed. He also wanted to make sure that 4Gamer didn’t report this news “negatively”. “Yes, so please don’t report too negatively,” he asked.

Thanks, DualShockers.