In an unprecedented move on April 9, the official Xbox Singapore account on Facebook changed its name to Xbox SEA and even altered its description to cover the entire Southeast Asia region, instead of just one country.
On top of that, The Age of Empires: Fan Preview as well as the game’s new look have all been translated into regional languages, namely Bahasa Malaysia and Vietnamese.
While there hasn’t been an official statement on the matter (as the switch seems to have been made unceremoniously), we here at IGN Southeast Asia welcome Xbox’s efforts in providing support to more countries in Southeast Asia beyond Singapore.
So, without further ado, here’s what it means for Xbox players in the region once Microsoft provides full-on support for their game console in Southeast Asia.
No More Offshore Accounts
The biggest and most exciting thing about this is that local currencies will be supported through the Microsoft Store, meaning that players can make Malaysian or Vietnamese Xbox accounts soon, buy Xbox games in their currency of choice and even subscribe to things like the Xbox Game Pass.
Currently, the workaround that players in the region have is to make a Singaporean or American account, so it’ll be nice for Xbox to have full regional support just like PlayStation has had for years now.
Live Benefits
Another thing that Microsoft likes doing is offering a number of extra benefits for those who are subscribed to either Xbox Live Gold or Xbox Game Pass, from time to time. This includes things like free 3-month memberships to services like Disney+ or free seasons of anime like Dragon Ball or Naruto.
Hopefully, with full-on regional support, Southeast Asian gamers get to have their own brand of these extra benefits, especially once Disney+ makes its way across the region as well.
Accessibility Controller
The Xbox Adaptive Controller is one of the best things Microsoft has made in recent years; it is a fully customisable controller for people with disabilities to use. This opens up gaming to a whole spectrum of players who might not have been able to enjoy video games without a proper setup.
The Adaptive Controller has not been officially released in most parts of Southeast Asia, so stocking these in local Microsoft stores and game stores is definitely a great initiative for more accessibility in Southeast Asian gaming.
Warranties and Fixes
Here’s a minor annoyance for most Xbox players outside of Singapore for the past few years, where you either have to make sure you have an official warranty from Xbox Singapore or from your local game shop if your Xbox was ever in need of fixing.
This usually meant that your game shop would either have to fix it themselves or send your Xbox all the way to Singapore just to fix something. How great would it be if you could just send your Xbox to any Microsoft store, just like how you would with a Surface Pro?
SEA Indie Support
Despite the Xbox One not having as strong of a foothold as its predecessor, the Xbox 360, or any of the PlayStations in Southeast Asia, Southeast Asian indie games have always been made available on the platform, with even Coffee Talk becoming one of the free Xbox Live offerings last year.
Hopefully, with Xbox SEA, we will see more regional indies getting their time to shine through the Xbox Game Pass, which provides immense opportunities and support to indies all over the world. On top of Toge Productions’ games, maybe we’ll see other Southeast Asian games, like No Straight Roads or the upcoming Soup Pot, be part of one of gaming’s greatest subscription services.
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