They’re classics. They’re new from Xbox LIVE. And they’re free!

Why only for US and not for the world? :(

Can't find these in the UK Marketplace by searching. I clicked your Zune links on my phone and I don't get the option to install/try/buy. Is this US only or something?

Not in Canadian Marketplace either. There might just be a delay between regions.

Can't see them in UK marketplace

@ Michael Stroh – It was my understanding that MS was going to offer these two games for free because they were going to have the Bing search bar displayed on the screen (just as is shown on the pictures on this post).  I just downloaded both games but instead of showing the Bing search bar, it shows a rectangular box with advertisement.  I hate to complain about something when it’s free, but after all we have been through, I thought this was going to be MS’ way to say “thank you for being patient with us, here are two free games” –and they’re free of advertisement too.

US only... really Microsoft? This and the artist artwork in both the Zune software and on the phone with Mango... bloody ridiculous, really..

I hope the fact these aren't available worldwide is temporary. I see no reason why it shouldn't be worldwide?

This is going to lead to a lot of users being disappointed.

It would be helpful if the Zune client gave a message when apps or games are restricted. At present there is no UI to help explain to the user why they can't download an app.

On another note, one of the best ways for you to sell more WP7 phones is word of mouth. I'm left slightly depressed that I have to pay so much for XBOX games especially when compared to iPhone/Android. I doubt I will be able to impress my mates much by saying "Wow, look at this cool Sudoku/Minesweeper/Flowerz game! This knocks your smartphone out of the park!".

Why not give us loyal WP7 users something, for free, that we can really show off?!?

@Michael : This is definitive? If so, it's a shame because it's really rare to have Xbox Live games for free (only one: Flowerz)  :(

Thanks, but no thanks. Official games, ad-filled. Doesn't matter if they are free or not, ads are the biggest turn off.

Oh, and many times, the PC version of a game is cheaper than the WP version. What's up with the overpriced stuff?

@ Michael Stroh – Then why the pictures on your post show the Bing Search bar? Is that only for the “in-house” people? ;o)

I guess it was too much to ask from MS… call me a cheap B4$T4RD if you want to, but I thought MS was going to give away two “truly” free games to us; loyal and patient customers.  ‘A caballo regalado, no se le mira el colmillo’, which roughly translates as ‘Don’t check the horse’s denture, when it’s given to you for free’ –or something like that…

Don't get me wrong, I love WP7, and Mango is really great. But by doing stuff like this you are really hurting your loyal customers...

It's okay to keep the OS slim but at least you should offer some official basic apps with good functionality that make use of all the great features the OS offers, and some basic games by Microsoft.

Also, do you know if there are some other Microsoft apps planned to be released when Mango ships? Or at least updates for the few existing ones? For example the Weather app by Microsoft could really use a Live Tile. It's an official app and doesn't have one, how can this be?

Totally off topic but: Who thought the current brightness control is enough? Low is still way too bright in the dark. Give a slider for gods sake.

Come on I'm getting tired of having defend MS re the pricing and I'm losing the battle to convince people to get a WP7 if you're new to the market, why are the apps and games so expensive to the others. And now lots of hype about some free games with some achievements and I can't get them. ho hum

@ Angel Kavazov – I agree with you man… The ads are normally ugly, intrusive and a huge turn-off… It’s like seeing your wife come to bed wearing sweatpants and a sweater.  

I downloaded the two games because, number one, I love puzzle games, and because they have achievements.  I honestly didn’t mind to have the Bing Search bar on, but if I have to choose between these ugly ads and a paid version of the game, I will go with the second.  At least if they would have charged a symbolic  49 cents for each game, but I forgot this is M$ I am talking about…

"Sorry guys. These games are indeed U.S. only titles. hanks for flagging. I updated the post to reflect."

Wow... "Really?" At some point the WP team is going to need to realise there are places outside the USA. So many missing features / USA only apps.

Microsoft's global effort is laughable... From Bing maps that barely works, feature missing everywhere and now a blog post read by international WP7 users introducing Xbox Live apps that are US only...

We're an understanding bunch, but if you never provide explanations or reasoning for these decisions, you will keep reading angry comments from disappointed users below posts.

I love the platform, but I think it's time to start designing features/apps that are region agnostic. If licensing red tape is in the way, it needs to be addressed from the start, not as an afterthought after a US release. I get no sense that Microsoft gives a second thought to users living outside the US, otherwise oversights like Bing Maps would never have happened.

No Ads. There is simply no reason that Microsoft, with all it's resources, needs to release this with ads.

This just confirmed the fact that to the rest of the world Microsoft is just showing us a "big middle finger".

I personally don't mind because i'm neither a mobile gamer or a fan of too many apps on my phone

But I get annoyed when this first happens with inbuilt features and now third party apps

Now i'm really certain that if I don't get mango by October,and even if I get it and its useless because i'm Canada,I'll just go with a BlackBerry or Palm Pre.

This is just Ridiculous

Why not just make the phone as the dam Zune devices and sell them in the US only.

Microsoft has detailed a plan to conquer the US Market but says nothing on the rest of the world

BTW,Thanks Michael Stroh for the replies

Microsoft can't afford to antagonize users, especially those outside the US. I honestly don't get why they would do something so nice, with an obvious "you're not important" to other countries. Very confusing, and makes you guys look like amateurs.

I can't believe your at again screwing the the rest of the world it really is a joke I thought you had started to see the big world outside the US obviously was wrong.

I can't understand the decision to release something only to the US. Keep telling developers, that they should release to all regions,... but treat us like 3rd world citizen. It's a shame. What are the costs to release that WW? ZERO. BTW: ROW is bigger than US.

I assume it's US only for language purposes. Even if it's english only, let other countries have access to it. We really won't be offended in Canada if it says "color" instead of "colour".

When did Microsoft make the decision to no longer be a multi-national company and be an American market company only? As a long suffering Zune user in Canada, I'm amazed that Microsoft continues to be unable to address the needs and requirements of a country with similar legal and market conditions as the U.S. Now, we can't get apps outside of the U.S.? Really Microsoft, really? It's an app... What in the world (literally) could be the difference in global markets that would prevent you from releasing an app in which you are charging no money for?

I'm guessing unless MS wrote the original versions of the games, there was some element of licensing and/or agreement to limit distribution, thats why they are US only.

With all due respect, this "US Only" thing is getting old real fast. I am a US citizen, but I'm not sure why Microsoft loves screwing over the rest of the world. Hopefully this will change in the future. This is why Apple and Google will continue to make gains, while Microsoft sits dead in the water.

@ MaxxDelusional – Why would anyone in Canada be offended if it says “color” instead of “colour”? It’s like if any Canadian will be offended if I say “kiss my A$$” instead of A$$.  No sense.

Oops! I meant "kiss my AR$" instead of "kiss my A$$"...

Every Wednesday, I look forward to the new xbox LIVE title in the marketplace. And to find out this weeks title were two classics, for free, i was pumped. I've been a ZUNE user since day one. I live in Canada and travelled to the US for a ZUNE. I loved it. But honnestly, iTUNES, has EVERYTHING in CANADA, why cant Microsoft do anything? A little more transparency would be great. I remember Balmer said fall 2008 we'd have the marketplace. Now were hoping for the fall, but who knows.

At least let us have all the apps, games and videos.

Heck we dont even get podcasts :(.

It's like the WP7 team is looking at the worst things MS ever did to implement them into WP7. Region locks for not reason are the worst part of Xbox for example.

And it's probably just because you don't have any ad partners outside the US whose ads you could put in the game. Guess why not...

Wow, I guess it's true that even if you give away something for free, people will complain.

I'm happy to have some new free games.  The ads aren't any different than a lot of free stuff on Marketplace. These just have the bonus of free achievements.  Thanks for the free games!

Looking forward to Mango... Can't wait. :)

At least we deserve a coherent answer about the "US only".

THIS IS FRUSTRATING.

Why "US only"?

I am from Asia.

Think BIG Microsoft.

Why "US only"?

Wow, yet another regionalisation fail on MS's part.

I love my Windows Phone, but is it any wonder that Windows Phone is getting almost zero traction in the market?

Stupid decisions like this hardly help.

Hi Michael - not raging on you, your just reporting it and copping it on behalf of MS.  However MS have to manage these sorts of things better.  OK, a freebie is a freebie and those that can get it are grateful I'm sure.

However you have to manage the communication better.  Why wouldn't MS only announce and release WITH clarifications of their intents for non-US cistomers, so we understand the context/position for outside the US....if your testing something, say so and just report if you intend eventually to make these available outside the US.  If you can't do this, then at least tell us why or what might happen for non-US customers.

My Blog post:

Does MS even get it re: Region restrictions outside the US? | Windows Phone DownUnder http://bit.ly/nHQBLv

<starting to get worried over Mango now>

Sheeds.

http://www.wpdownunder.com

Microsoft stop advertising core features that you offer universally. I just wish Microsoft could actually guarantee the Windows Phone experience universally, with Zune and the Marketplace not fully available we are missing a huge part of WP7. :( thumbs down MS ... don't like

@BuckeyeTico - I’m thinking that the bing part you are seeing in the screen shot may not be an actual bing search bar but maybe a customized ad for the bing search engine.

BTW, what’s the ETA on Mango's jailbreak? So i don’t suffer from any region lock bs!!

This is really annoying.  We JUST got marketplace access in South Africa and I thought after the long wait we are now eventually part of the rest of the world.  Far from that it seems.  There are still reasons (no, make that excuses) to not focus efforts internationally.  

MS be clear what the focus is.  This type of mistake is an insult to your loyal international supporters.  I don't think you guys understand what if feels like to get a sub-par experience all the time and to KNOW that you are being treated as sub-par!

In South Africa, the only free Xbox LIVE game is Flowerz and it won't install but gives an error!  Really bad...

This is not just an issue regarding these titles. For me as a UK user it would be nice to have these games with achievements. But to be honest i can live without them and use other 3rd party games free from the Marketplace.

The thing that really gets to me is the frequency this happens. I've flagged on so many blog posts that featured apps are about 90% of the time U.S. only. Features are missing from my phone like voice search. This continued lack of supports leaves me with a dreading feeling that I will also miss out on nice Mango features like Bing Audio and Visual services.

As has been said. R.O.W market is bigger than U.S. market. This really needs sorting.

really... only US?! Are we not a globalized economy anymore? All this US-only, US-first crap is very frustrating

Finally some free Xbox Live game.

Add me to the list of pissed off WP7 owners. Microsoft's regional policy is only hurting WP7, and whoever is making these idiotic decisions should be fired and replaced with someone with greater vision.

Michael Stroh - thanks, appreciate your replies.

Wish Steve Ballmer or Joe Belfiore can hear the cries from the ROW. PLEASE DO SOMETHING ABOUT ALL THESE!

Gang, you all have very, very valid concerns regarding the way the Marketplace and some of the most significant features of the OS work (or, rather, don't).  But you keep assuming that the ROW actually plays the game the same way the US does.  The fact is, it doesn't.  The anti-piracy laws, the licensing laws, content, etc. are all different across the globe.  Some are more restrictive than others.  Some countries simply don't LIKE Microsoft and create a number of hoops the company has to go through just to get permission to do certain things.  I don't pretend to know all the ins and outs of this, but I've seen quite a number of discussions elsewhere on the web about the topic of software and media commerce.  There are also some technical aspects that most of us don't really get....these must also be overcome.  As a company, Microsoft has a number of decisions to make---release what can be released to whomever it CAN be released, or hold it back until it can be released to everyone.  It sounds to me like what most of you are insisting on is that Microsoft hold every new thing back until it can be released to all.  Well, speaking only for myself, I'd rather not wait for the ROW.

It is rather annoying we can't get them in the UK :( Mango is awesome though! Hopefully MS can sort out some of regional issues so we can all enjoy these releases, apple and android don't seem have them so kinda odd MS does.

Seriously man.... I really really love WP7 and have continued telling my friends to get one...but this regional thing needs to be solved. I'm in Singapore and there are just too many features and services, apps not available for us users here and all i see is features(Mango) that I am not even sure i will be getting.

I will still ask my friends to get wp7 and I hope you guys really see the importance of having features for other regions.. please...Thanks for all your effort.

Keep pushing! WP Rocks!

US Only again!

This is one main reason why Apple is where it is right now and why Microsoft is struggling to catch them up.

Microsoft is plagged by this incredible inability to deploy globally and this legendary lack of global market vision.

Zune, the best musical experience platform with the innovative ZunePass, has been prevented from succeeding by this same stubborn attitude.

This is plain ridiculous and without a dramatic attitude change in this domain, Microsoft will continue to be the main obstacle to its own success.

WAKE UP MICROSOFT, THERE A WHOLE WORLD OUTSIDE THE US!

@Michael Stroh, maybe some decision makers were not coherent with their decisions resulting in potential nº1 selling products to be unkown or vaguely reminded... Time to check the the internals and review the company's politics...

These regional f-ups are why I'll never tell a friend to get a WP. I always say it's ok but they're better off with Android or an iphone.

And another pi**ed off WP7 user in Germany!

No speech search, no BING search in IE (yahoo? seriously? they don't even have a mobile page!), less games, less apps, less features. Thanks for screwing everybody in Germany, Microsoft!

BING (web search) has not left the beta stadium yet. It's just MSN search with a new interface. It search engine just su**s! PLEASE! Spend some money on that! FIX IT ALREADY!

I'm sooooo tired of fighting for Microsoft and in the end be left outside in the rain.

And come Mango, I see only bleakness! Turn-by-Turn Navigation? Don't see that coming to Germany. Text to speech? We don't even have speech search. Smart DJ? Why? Without Zune Pass?

There's is SO much that has yet to be done, but I don't here even rumours that Microsoft is working on it. So, I assume Microsoft doesn't not always think like a global player. Too bad... If things won't get fixed within this year, I think I'll consider a fragmented Android after all. I mean, that can't be worse than being a second class costumer, can it?

You have to stop this US only thing. It really, really hurts.

Hi,

It doesn't matter about the Games or something else.

It is a general treat of users outside US.

Read my Blog for an example here in Germany:

msicc.wordpress.com/.../microsofts-way-to-treat-wp7-users-in-germany

Greets

MSicc

Where's my Minesweeper for Zune HD? ; )

@scubadog2011

C'mon,give us a break with the licensing issue

I get it when it comes to music and videos,but you are trying to tell me even Sudoku has these barriers

really

And we in ROW are out in the rain again! Im am getting tired of this US only crap. I am living in Sweden and love my WP7 but I also see big gaping holes where we dont get all the features. Especially Bing sucks really bad over here. Bing which is and will be evere more a core feature of this phone does not work in sweden as it should. You guys should fix bing so that all great features in US goes worldwide. Google is doing that and they get god press over here. Just yesterday Google announced that Google Maps in Sweden now has free navigation with street view - for free! That one made major news and many now wants to get a Android phone because they seems so good with free navigation and all. It's very hard to try to convince people over here that WP7 have this to, but not in our country and we don't even know if it will ever be getting here - Fail - lost sale.

Please make all core stuff in WP7 work globally or stop selling WP7 over here because in the light of the Android stuff that shows on all poster and commercials, WP7 starts to look like a loser. Breaks my heart.

Please make the right guys take action on this and turn this ship around. You have a real killer phone - if you want to!

This US only thing is frustrating.  It's not about the games per se but the principle of this exclusivity.  This has been an issue since Zune which MS has been too lazy and slow to address.  They don't even allow Asian Credit Cards in the Marketplace.

MS, don't allow your mobile OS to be sold to other parts of the world where you're not going to work on providing the same level of service you have in your primary territories.

I have to agree here, this is just not what Microsoft should be doing.´There are a lot of loyal customers outside US that have a really powerful phone that can't do half of what it should. Here in Sweden we even have to change our region to make free applications available to download.

But I still think WP7 is good and I have faith, but Microsoft is not doing it any favor. Start thinking worldwide, not US. Everytime a customer will be told that features are US only it will be a kick in the back. I don't have artwork for my Zune. WHY? It's ok that I can't download music, but why can't I have the artwork? Now I can't have applications for the phone I bought because I obviously was born in the wrong country?

It's ok if you clearly state that it's US only from the start, but to keep us waiting and then hit us with the bat? And I can't see why either? Zune Pass is understandable and I accept that, but this is not.

US-only? That sucks big time. Once again. You do realize that the US is smaller than the rest of the world?!? Please stop talking about US-only things. I'm tired of learning about great stuff like Bing Vision (Album covers, ...), Bing Music, Apps, Zune, Zune Pass, ... only to realize minutes later that I can't use them. I accept that there are some things where you must make arrangements with content providers or that it's a lot of work to update Bing. But #1: That's what you're paid for (by us) and #2: This doesn't apply to things like Bing Vision or Bing Music. And it's seriously not that hard to recognize Swiss adresses automatically. I wrote algorithms for exactly that a few years ago. By now you should have that working. I can't even enter a Swiss address into Bing and find it (!).

I don't even know if Microsoft is working on the problems. There are no official dates. I know, I called MS Switzerland several times.

@ Xbox Live Team - These two games are pretty good, I have been playing them a lot -good design.  I honestly would rather pay for them so I can have those ugly and intrusive ads taken away.  Please think about it.

add me to the pissed off users list.

Why ONLY FOR US?

Like every Microsoft's new services..!!! Why this doesn't  happen for Apple or Google? They offer their services in all over the world in the same way....

This is the thanks for purchasing a Windows Phone 7.

Still i could care less about other places getting th shaft since i live in US but can you please add international support so people can please stop crying its starting to get irritating to see the phone trip up because of small stuff like this. Come on Microsoft your rising up don't stop now. Also i'd rather have an ad filled game then pay for one. You people are crazy. I must be cheap then so be it :/

Michael, I hope by now you can see that far from being a concern over two games, what you see here is pent-up frustration from around the world over what seems to be a complete disregard of the phone experience in the hands of international users.

Bing and Bing Maps are still broken around the world, and many features being announced for Mango will not be making their way across US borders.

Yet this blog, the podcast, the presentations, not once have I heard a Microsoft representative apologize for the problems and outline a path forward.

If there is someone in charge of overseeing the international implementation of Bing and other features, a blog post would help a great deal to aleviate concerns. By far the worse course of action would be to remain silent and leave international users in the dark with broken phones.

Well said arrow22! I second you on this...

+1 to arrow22

I still don't even know what I will be able to use when Mango rolls out. There has been no comms as to what features are going to be US only.

Folks, please go back and read the @John McConnell blog from July 6th.  His initial post plus his subsequent responses gives some insight to this issue.  I know I've seen other posts on it, and at least one of them I recall being more of an apologetic tone rather than a vanilla "here's how it works" response.  Clearly, the Minesweeper/Sudoku issue caught some of their team off guard---that's their bad, to be sure.  But even based solely on the McConnell post it seems clear that there are multiple challenges to getting other markets included and that Microsoft made some policy choices for the sake of expedience rather than coverage/access.  Again, I ask (rhetorically) the same question I've asked before: does a company choose to release what it can to whom it can as quickly as it can, or does a company hold the release of something until it's ready for all customers?  Those of you with the loudest voices are indicating you'd rather they not release it until all can enjoy it---and that's fine to have the opinion.  I happen to disagree with that, and I'm sure there are many who feel the same way.  It's impossible for Microsoft to please everyone in this kind of circumstance, hopefully you all can see that.  Personally, I think it truly damages the platform and the ability to grab and grow market share when you can't even fully support your target markets.  I guess, though, it's easier to get forgiveness than permission, even in this situation.  I have to remember that Microsoft is, at it's core, a U.S. company that happens to have global reach, global elements and global markets.  It should be obvious that it functions best working within the context of American laws and regulations---that's the playfield and market it knows best and can more easily get stuff out to, so the Marketplace can be more responsive to that.  

Many of you posting appear to have taken the position that Microsoft is intentionally thumbing its nose at non-US markets.  You're entitled to that opinion, but I think that's a completely emotional response to this, and I've seen no evidence to support that case.  Some of you claim it's just incompetence on Microsoft's part.  I won't say that you don't have some indication of at least some of that, if only because Microsoft has not been stellar in communicating details.  I, in contrast, tend to believe it's a combination of not knowing how to fully--and quickly--exploit non-US markets in this relatively new approach as well as trying to get a LOT of things done as quickly as possible, being driven internally and externally to get SOMEthing out there now...after all, everyone has jumped on the "Microsoft is way late to this game" bandwagon.

@Arrow22, the two points you've made were regarding an apology and an outline for moving forward.  I think those are fair requests, though I, for the life of me, don't see what an apology gets you or anyone else.  I think the valuable piece is the "what's stopping Microsoft from deploying all features equally to all markets" and "from where things stand now, what's the plan for get-well".  I don't think that's unreasonable.

BTW, visit the Developer blog, too.  You'll find more information on things like this because it does affect developers in other countries.  Don't treat the Windows Phone blog as the be-all nexus of information.

It's like reading Don Quixote...!

@ScubaDog, you raise some good points. While I have no doubt that there are multiple factors influencing where and when features can be rolled out, what I do expect is that Microsoft start analysing possible regional obstacles and taking the steps to resolve them from the initial stages of development, not as an afterthought.

For example, as of NoDo, Bing maps still returns a location halfway around the globe at a local address search if I ommit my city name. Businesses aren't included at all. (good news for fellow Canadians though, the Mango Beta version seems to address these problems, though still not at the same level as Google)

I guess a lot of the frustration stems from Microsoft unveiling features that look amazing without ever clarifying their unavailability to most of the world (ex. Artist art, speech to text, Bing Vision, Bing Music, Local Scout...)

And I agree, an apology won't benefit me or anyone and isn't completely deserved. The WP7 team delievered an exciting product which I love, and is the reason all of us are here reading this blog. What I want, and what I think many others would like to see, is for Microsoft to just acknowledge that yes, there is a need to better unify the experience on WP7 and [these] are the steps that will get us there.

Not that I really must have theese games  in partiacular, but the idea of regional restrictions(yawn) is so not 2011. There is a loyal market out there, microsoft just have to put these old boring ideas of bureaucracy in the past. Especially if microsoft wants to grow in the smartphone market. Internet is evrewhere and so should evereything be, that  can be consumed electronicly.

@arrow22, I don't disagree with you there.  There does some to be a significant amount of disconnected sub-entities or teams when it comes to how Microsoft has executed this.  It just struck me that the way Apple helped themselves was with iTunes.  They really trudged down the internation/regional battlefield early on to get that working.  By the time the iPhone came to reality they had a headstart on the whole app store thing (though I understand they DID have a lot of disconnects early on, too).  Microsoft is doing this, largely, backwards.

@Mrautaern, I really wish I could get it through to people that it's NOT Microsoft CREATING these regional "bureaucracies".  They exist because we have different nations, different states, and laws within each.  It is simplistic to act like Microsoft somehow owns the process of getting permission to field features and market apps.  You could argue that they've been inept in working these issues with the various regions, you can argue that Microsoft has not placed enough importance and effort into resolving them, but you cannot honestly blame them for the fact that these obstacles exist.

This kind of thing has been a complaint I've had with a great number of detractors--this overwhelming desire to find fault with the wrong entity for the wrong things.

joined this blog just for saying: that is lame!

come on microsoft! how will you make windows phone 7 a winner by negelecting the rest of the world?

begins with bing being quite crippled here in europe to now offering apps only for the US

continue as you do and my next phone won´t be win phone 7 again

I agree with the other comments, I am disappointed that these are a US only release.

Why oh why MS,  There's a big wide world out there. Just  watch CNN and you might realise this. With the US economy in the S**t  i would have thought that your priority might be China or at least Asia in general. Money to burn here ....oh know I get it US cant afford to buy apps so got to give them away yet Asias got cash so cash in

I agree with some of you guys. If I should choose between ads and piad version, I`d defintely go for the last. I don´t like ads in my apps. I don`t understad why the games here are more expensive than on the other platforms. Who sets the price? ( well the market ofcause, and that is us ;))

I don´t mind paying for a game as long as the price is right. Games like "birds on a wire" with a high level of detail, awsome graphics and very nice gameplay, and "steambirds", also a well made game, cost only §1.99. These games are a lot better than games that I´ve been "forced" to paid §2.99 and sometimes §4.99 for . Let`s get the price level down, cause ít`s hard to get people to swich platform when the price level on apps are to high. What do you guys think?

Microsoft should really update this post to say Minesweeper is now available worldwide http://bit.ly/pQ13iu

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