Xbox Music for SA imminent

Following the SA launch on Windows 8, a Microsoft SA representative has told MyGaming and MyBroadband that the Xbox Music service will be launching in South Africa soon.

There is no projected date for the launch of the service. Information on the list of available SA artists is still under wraps until the official launch is confirmed.

Microsoft said they would be happy to launch Xbox Music along with the launch Windows 8 with the amount of content they have now. Microsoft clarified that local licensing is not holding up the launch.

The Microsoft representative said that it is standard rollout practice to tier the launch – which is why certain countries will be receiving the service before others. SA is however in line for the service to launch soon.

Another interesting detail worth noting is that SA swimming legend Chad le Clos was on stage to present his experience with a Windows 8 tablet PC, and said to much laughter that “The great thing about Xbox Music is that you can download music without using illegal sites.”

Microsoft’s spokesperson explained that Le Clos is one of the people “dogfooding” Xbox Music for South Africa – a term Microsoft uses as short hand for “eating our own dogfood.”

The Xbox Music service is a rebranding of the now mostly discontinued Zune service, and is scheduled for deployment elsewhere on the planet on 26 October, alongside the Windows 8 release.

The service will be supported not only on Xbox 360 consoles, but also Windows PCs, tablets, and smartphones, with expansion to iOS and Android devices later.

*Hat tip to MyBroadband’s Jan Vermeulen for body-checking Microsoft’s PR rep before they could get tucked into the buffet.

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