Late Japan launch part of Xbox One’s "second wave"

Microsoft has designated Japan as a Tier 2 country for the launch of Xbox One, and promises that it won’t be too far behind the US release.

The platform holder’s Japanese president and CEO Yasuyuki Higuchi confirmed the next-generation console won’t arrive in the region until next year during an interview with 4Gamer (via DualShockers).

He said: "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]."

Microsoft previously confirmed that Xbox One will only be released in 21 countries this year, with no Asian nations among them. Japan was a particularly notable absence.

While there is still no word on how long these nations will have to wait for the new console, Higuchi did say the Japanese launch "won’t be delayed too much from the North American release".

Hopefully, that means within the first half of the year, rather than the second.