A Few More Details About International Release

[Adam Krebs]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2009/may/27/microsoft-zune-marketplace' target='_blank'>http://www.guardian.co.uk/technolog...une-marketplace</a><br /><br /></div><p>"<em>Up until now, the portable media player and its online iTunes Store equivalent, Zune Marketplace, have only been available in the US. From early Autumn, however, a revised service, Zune Video, will be available on Xbox Live in the US, UK, France, Italy, Germany, Ireland and Spain (with more countries coming aboard later). Xbox 360 owners in these territories will be able to go online and access video content and play it via their console. A variety of access options will be available, including instant streaming, download to rent and download to own. However, no Zune portable music players will be launched outside of the US - at least not yet. This is about the online service only.</em>"</p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/zt/auto/1243731028.usr495.jpg" style="border: 1px solid #d2d2bb;" width="500" /></p><p>It's still fairly difficult to determine what Microsoft's strategy around an international release will be. So far they've been tight-lipped about their specific plans with regards to launching the Zune services outside of North America or Western Europe, and even the Zune HD doesn't look like it'll make it outside of the US. This seems like a poor strategy, and one I really hope they fix before the HD launches in the fall.</p>

[batkinson001]

ugh again with giving us canadians the old F-BOMB. M$ should seriously release the hd everywhere. the whole 'US only' thing is getting quite old, Americans aren't the only people on this damned planet! GIVE US THE ZUNE HD EH!

[Adam Krebs]

M$ should seriously release the hd everywhere. the whole 'US only' thing is getting quite old, Americans aren't the only people on this damned planet!

I'm with ya man. I'd love to see the Zune catch on, and for that to happen it needs to be available worldwide. I'd really like to know what's keeping them.

On a side note, I saw an article in the New York Times a couple weeks ago about the difficulties of setting up web services (esp. video) in other countries with the difficulties of monetizing the ads to a different locale. It shed a new light on the reasons Hulu hasn't launched internationally yet, and hopefully why the HD should.

[Stinger]

A European release would more than double the Zune's potential market overnight. Surely it's not that hard for music licensing at the very least. There's plenty of other companies who've managed to agree deals.

This is sad news.

[ACE]

I am really perplexed as to the strategy that MS seems to be having going internationally. I mean, look at the Canadian release still yet to be complete with a Zune Marketplace. Does licensing really take that long? I understand there can be some issues, but seriously - does it take that long? It's frustrating and it makes it look like MS has no real strategy, or they're changing their strategy all the time.

And having HD radio in the ZuneHD now completely confines it to the US unless they want to ship a model with anolog radio in them instead. :confused:

[Jason Dunn]

Surely it's not that hard for music licensing at the very least. There's plenty of other companies who've managed to agree deals.

Yeah, that's the thing that really baffles me - from the outside looking in, it looks like Microsoft is doing NOTHING to get the Zune launched outside the USA. But that's definitely not the case - so the question is, why is it so hard?

I have a theory: Apple managed to blaze a relatively quick trail in terms of having music stores available in many markets all over the world. Microsoft has the money and legal muscle to do the same, so why can't they? My theory is that when Apple first started, no one thought the iTunes music store would be such a raging success, and now that the record labels and politicians who make intellectual property laws understand the power of digital distribution, they're holding Microsoft over the hot coals to get them to give up more than Apple or anyone else has.

I've never heard a single explanation for why Microsoft hasn't been able to launch the Zune Marketplace in Canada after a year of trying for instance...it just doesn't make sense.

[Jason Dunn]

And having HD radio in the ZuneHD now completely confines it to the US unless they want to ship a model with anolog radio in them instead. :confused:

To be clear, the Zune HD does have a regular FM radio receiver in it.

[ACE]

To be clear, the Zune HD does have a regular FM radio receiver in it.

And an HD radio tuner? :confused:

[Jason Dunn]

And an HD radio tuner? :confused:

Yes, it has both - I specifically asked the Zune team about this and they confirmed. Why is that hard to believe? It's just another tiny chip inside the shell.

[ACE]

Yes, it has both - I specifically asked the Zune team about this and they confirmed. Why is that hard to believe? It's just another tiny chip inside the shell.

I'm not too keen on the whole tech of radio chips... I'm actually surprised that's the case. Don't get me wrong, I believe it - it's just the device is thin (I mean really thin) and I thought radio tuners took up a considerable amount of space...

Good to hear that's not the case... :D

[Jason Dunn]

...I thought radio tuners took up a considerable amount of space...

I'm not an engineer, but I've seen those little credit-card sized radio receivers that run on a small watch battery and are very thing. So I think an FM receiver is pretty small. :)

[Kevin Daly]

Bearing in mind that much of the world suffers under the tyranny of download caps, what they're going international with is arguably the least useful feature.

Is the issue here Microsoft's unwillingness or inability to provide a global music service? (since obviously without that the Zune itself loses much of its rationale).That's consistent with past behaviour...obviously Apple can do it, but Microsoft? Apparently not.

The ZuneHD has the potential to be a breakout product, and combined with the positive buzz from Windows 7 could even help to change Microsoft's brand image...but if it isn't made available to the world that opportunity will pass.
What's worse, while the current Zune isn't even a blip on the radar for most people outside the US (they never see one after all), positive reports about the ZuneHD coming from the US could actually turn into negative publicity on the international market for Microsoft, since people will be hearing good things about something Microsoft chooses not to sell them...which makes Microsoft look insular and arguably incompetent.

[Alber1690]

It is interesting to ponder if Zune's potential really lies outside the borders of the U-S-of-A. It can just so happen to be that it could be a hit in Europe and maybe even the Asian and Latin American countries. Who knows...:rolleyes:

On a side note, where did you guys get that Zune HD product shot? I haven't found another from an official source that features a black-colored back cover like the one in that shot. Only the "platinum" one...

[Jason Dunn]

On a side note, where did you guys get that Zune HD product shot? I haven't found another from an official source that features a black-colored back cover like the one in that shot. Only the "platinum" one...

That product shot was sent to the Zune MVPs by a member of the Zune team - it has popped up on other sites here and there without explanation, and some Zune MVPs watermarked the image and other sites have cropped out the watermark. It's a cut-throat world out there. :rolleyes:

The black Zune HD is for real though!

[serpico]

In Canada we waited for the iTunes store but it didn't take this long. We didn't have everything available to us either just music. I think Microsoft should open a store with what ever they can give us. Podcasts and anything else unlicensed would be a great start. It's better than having nothing to sync these devices with. My zune 120 would get more use if I had the marketplace. I would be paying $15 a month for 10 free songs too. Now it's just a backup external drive of music.