XBox 360 Launching Nov 22

EGSonikku writes "Microsoft has released an official press release regarding the XBox 360 world wide launch just prior to the Tokyo Game Show. Looks like the US will be getting it just prior to Thanksgiving on November 22nd. Europe will get it on December 2nd, and Japan on December 10th."

Waiting time

[obii]

At least Europeans don't have to wait as long as for Sonys' PSP...

The release date in Europe was over 6 months after the release date in Japan and USA.

games at release

[Red Flayer]

"Tokyo Game Show marks the first time that consumers will be able to experience the power of Xbox 360 firsthand. A number of key titles will be on display at the Xbox 360 booth: "

The press release goes on to list a bunch of games. Curiously, there is no mention of which of the games will be available at release... only that the titles 'will be on display'.

Re:Great!

[Ryz0r]

You sound like a Sony zealot..

Now, this is a question I ask you all... Which are worse, the playstation fanboys or xbox lovers?

We all know the specs, mainly because you obsessives have been creaming yourselves posting them on forums arguing why x is better than y

There is no better console(of the same generation), it all boils down to which has the best games - that's all i care about, anyway: what's the point in spending shitloads of your hard earned cash on something that can do amazing things, but the only thing you can play on it is a glorified version of pac man?

Re:I am not excited

[bynary]

I have small children. Wireless controllers are perfect because when they walk between me and the TV they don't trip over my cables and A) yank the cable out of the console or B) yank the console off the entertainment center.

Re:That's a first

[dividedsky319]

That's probably becuase the Xbox sold pretty horribly in Japan. Microsoft's priorities are probably to get it out to the places that actually care, THEN release and put out an effort in places they've struggled.

Re:Geek Card Revoked!

[dividedsky319]

Okay, you've never had a console, but admit to playing Dance, Dance Revolution? I suspect your either a girl or gay.

This is the problem with gamers today. If it doesn't involve killing or violence, it's not worth their time. What ever happened the concept of "gameplay"? It's been overshadowed by graphics and "mature content".

I've personally never played DDR, but I wouldn't mind eventually picking up a copy of one of them and a dance pad. I imagine it would be a lot of fun to get together a few friends, have a few drinks, and see how badly we can "dance".

Oh, and I'm a 23 year old straight (engaged, actually) male.

Re:I am not excited

[thatguywhoiam]

One console that I am excited about, though, is the Nintendo Revolution [wikipedia.org] due out probably some time next year. The president of Nintendo is going to do the keynote at this year's Tokyo Games thing, and will most likely reveal a giant mystery about it: what the controller is going to be like! Speculation is wide, and a lot of people are thinking it might use gyroscopic technologies to sense the moving of the controller. Also, the Revolution will be able to play every Nintendo game ever made all the way back to the NES!

Don't take this the wrong way. But...

How can you be so excited about a console you know practically nothing about?

I see this come out in every Xbox 360 / PS3 forum. You know nothing! Revolution may not even be the name of the bloody thing?

So - seriously - wft is there to be excited about? I like Nintendo, they do some neat stuff, but we don't know about the specs, the controller, the format, the lineup... anything!

(flicking holy water) The power of brand compels you! The power of brand ..... compels...

Re:Too Much!

[jbarket]

Then your point is that you're not their target audience, making your opinion more than a little irrelevant.

Thanks for admitting that you're a troll.

Re:Geek Card Revoked!

[Reapy]

Along these lines, I picked up ddr for myself and my wife to play. I actually got much better at the game then she did due to previous video game experience.

The game has nothing to do with dancing and everything to do with rythem and timing. It's like tapping out a 10 hit combo in tekken with your feet if you want to think of it.

Anyway, I love the game. It is different then what is out there, and any new experience is a fun experience. Since I've started playing my "dancing" at weddings and such has improved tremendously to the point where people complament me (rythem and timing goes a long way when dancing).

I know it is odd for the grandparent to hear, but practicing something actually makes you get better at it. I don't know why people think if you are "geeky" you aren't capable of learning something. I find it to be quite the opposite actually.

Anyway, to the parent, grab DDR and a good pad, it is a ton of fun. This is from a long time "hardcore" gamer whos been bored with the lack of new gaming generas to explore the past few years.

Re:Geek Card Revoked!

[m4dm4n]

I believe the GP said "red-blooded male American".

That cliché always seems to be used when denigrating people who don't like violence.

Re:That's a first

[popcultureicon]

And I would assume they will also notice that they are getting the cheapest price in the world for the xbox 360. Joystiq says that they are getting the equivalent of the $400 package for $350. They may have to wait a couple extra weeks, but that's still a pretty sweet deal.

Re:I am not excited

[jiushao]

Knowing that there is nothing special of interest in a new console (the xbox 360 and PS2) is a lot less exciting than not knowing what will happen with another. So I think "excited" is a good word here. It does not however imply that one should think that it is a sure buy or anything.

To me at least the things we know about the Revolution is that the hardware will be roughly similar to the xbox 360 in the common metrics (give or take 50% it is the same basic CPU, memory and graphics technology). However there is still the possibility that Nintendo has something up its sleeve that might make this generation actually interesting.

I don't want to be one of the grumpy old people complaining about new things, but really, this generation seems to be a very incremental improvement. In some areas even a step back since no console will have a harddrive in their basic configuration. While one can surely upgrade to one of the new ones it is more or less like moving from a GeForce FX to a 7000-series on the PC; you'll get the same basic thing, just a bit more of it.

Don't compare this to the PSX -> PS2 step, sure it just added more power, but the difference is that the PSX were too weak for a lot of gameplay possibilities. There does not seem to be much new gameplay possibilities on the PS3 as of yet (though I'd love to be proven wrong), just a bit more polish and glitz.

Re:I am not excited

[Anonymous Coward]

Specs: better than the current generation, that's all the matters. Flops, texture fill, etc. are all pointless numbers that mean nothing if they aren't used in interesting ways, and are generally presented as unrealistic numbers to give the impression of a major advantage over competitors.

Format: 12cm optical disc. The system is supposed to be capable of playing DVDs with a dongle, so likely DVD discs. Or am I misunderstanding what you mean by format?

Lineup: There will be a new Zelda and a new Mario, and likely a new game from most of the Nintendo franchises. Which, really, isn't much less than what I know about some of the games that have been announced for the PS3 and 360.

Controller: Isn't this what he's getting excited about? Personally, I'm sort of excited too. It has, based on the comments of some developers, been seen by some 3rd-parties, and they seem to be impressed. Besides, I'd like to see a controller that isn't essentially a SNES with sticks (PS3), or a Saturn 3D controller (360) that's been modified slightly to match the system stylings.

Halo 3 ships the day the PS3 comes out..

[cybrthng]

Simple as that. Microsoft is holding Halo3 to ship the day the PS3 is shipped.

Good plan if you ask me :)

Who is going to buy it and why?

[DrXym]

The mentality of owning something first when its overhyped, unproven, expensive and has a dearth of games strikes me as very peculiar.

Why does anyone do it? What's wrong with waiting 4 or 5 months to gauge the scene? At that point the prices might have lowered a little, the hype will have been replaced with more level headed criticism, and there will certainly more games.

I just don't understand why anyone would do it. I certainly don't understand why on November 22nd / 23rd the news will be filled with clips of losers queuing up and streaming into stores to buy a console at midnight.

Re:I am not excited

[Jeff DeMaagd]

Don't compare this to the PSX -> PS2 step, sure it just added more power, but the difference is that the PSX were too weak for a lot of gameplay possibilities. There does not seem to be much new gameplay possibilities on the PS3 as of yet (though I'd love to be proven wrong), just a bit more polish and glitz.

HD game play. While it could be written off as "glitz", being stuck with NTSC (or PAL) is IMO horrendous. I can't imagine a serious gamer saying they want VGA level resolution when they can get so much better, up to 6x more pixels. I tried playing the demos of the current console on a standard TV at a store, and it just looks awful. It's a pain shooting down a blob when it could actually have some detail.