After SONY's less than successful Playstation 2 Worldwide release future console manufacturers are studying the SONY paradigm carefully.
Microsoft, ofcourse, could not be an exception. As a result the X-Box, it has been announced, will not see a European release until Q1 2002. Microsoft will, instead, focus on meeting fully the US demand upon the products release in the fall of 2001. Efforts will focus on producing great demand by the Christmas holiday season next year, and supplying that demand successfully.
Considering the companY's limited experience in mass hardware production, this is a smart move. The Xbox will initially be produced in Mexico and Hungary, by Flextronics International. The Hungarian plant will most probably be responsible for supplying Europe, once the X-Box is released there, but will assist with the initial US supply .
So what about Japan? Microsoft has announced that Japan will get the X-Box within 2001, but plans to build an Asian plant to supply Japan and the rest of Asia, suggest that the X-Box's release in that continent will be delayed considerably.