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XBox (Games) Entertainment Games

XBox 360 Launching Nov 22 406

Posted by CmdrTaco from the microsoft-bad-video-games-good-i'm-so-torn dept.
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."
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XBox 360 Launching Nov 22 More

XBox 360 Launching Nov 22

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  • November 22 (Score:5, Funny)

    by grub ( 11606 ) <slashdot@grub.net> on Thursday September 15, 2005 @09:04AM (#13566027) Homepage Journal

    Microsoft's marketting gurus will come up with a slogan like "Celebrate the 42nd anniversary of JFK's assassination with a brand new XBOX 360!"

    • Re:November 22 (Score:5, Funny)

      by CleverNickedName ( 644160 ) on Thursday September 15, 2005 @09:25AM (#13566228) Journal
      I take it "Silent Scope 360" will be a launch title so.

      But will it be single-player, or a squad-based multiplayer???
      • I think the game will crash abruptly before anyone can find out the available playing modes :)
      • You'll find out in 2038.

      • Re:November 22 (Score:5, Funny)

        by Ced_Ex ( 789138 ) on Thursday September 15, 2005 @10:57AM (#13567116)
        I take it "Silent Scope 360" will be a launch title so.

        But will it be single-player, or a squad-based multiplayer???

        I believe it will have multiplayer capabilities, with a camping spot located on a grassy knoll.
        • I take it "Silent Scope 360" will be a launch title so. But will it be single-player, or a squad-based multiplayer??? I believe it will have multiplayer capabilities, with a camping spot located on a grassy knoll.

          The developer has not yet announced whether they are going with the multiplayer option, or the revolutionary 'Magic Bullet' feature.

    • But then I'm sure Sun will fly a plane over their headquarters with a banner saying, "Hey Microsoft: WE SHOT JFK. FUCK YOU"

      and totally trash the X-Box by comparing it to their high-send servers. "X-Box? Yea, that's what yo' momma does! Try the Sun Fire E20K [sun.com], it's smaller, cooler and cheaper than that suck-ass X-Box 3-shitty, yo."

      And then Scott McNealy's head will explode from the insanity!

  • That's a first (Score:3, Interesting)

    by darkjedi521 ( 744526 ) on Thursday September 15, 2005 @09:05AM (#13566030)
    Holy cow. Europe's getting a major console release before Japan. That's got to be a first.

    • Re:That's a first (Score:4, Interesting)

      by dancingmad ( 128588 ) on Thursday September 15, 2005 @09:10AM (#13566073)
      It is interesting.

      Japanese consumers aren't stupid, they know the machine's coming out everywhere else before Japan. It's going to look like MS snubbing the country. They're not going to like it and the 360 is going to suffer from a draught of good Japanese games, I think (the titles reported to be in development is the bare minimum it needs and I doubt even those titles are going to buoy the machine too much in Japan).
      • Having witnessed the failure of the XBox in Japan, I would reckon that Microsoft, this time around, is making great efforts in creating games Japanese players would play. In fact I believe I read something about MS courting Square-Enix and other Japanese developers by giving them dev systems and software.

        As far as the release delay, now the japanese know how the rest of the world feels when it comes to system and game releases. It didn't kill America's desire for Japanese consoles, though.

        And at least the
        • The extent of Microsoft 'courting' Square-Enix is that FF XI will be available for the XBox 360, a couple of years after the PC and PS2 version. Not really a major coup.
          • That does not mean FFXI is the only title Square-Enix is releasing for the 360, just the first. While FFXII doesn't look like it will be, any talk about future games coming or not coming out for the 360 is pure speculation. It would seem to be in Microsoft's best interests to get any many S-E games as possible to come out for the 360.

            • Re:That's a first (Score:3, Interesting)

              by badasscat ( 563442 )
              It would seem to be in Microsoft's best interests to get any many S-E games as possible to come out for the 360.

              It would have been in their best interests last time around too, but it didn't happen.

              Don't assume all this stuff happens in a vacuum. Sony is actively trying to thwart all of MS's moves in Japan and they have the advantage of playing on their home turf - they know the guys as S-E, they work with them all the time, they literally speak the same language. They also run their businesses the same w
        • I think that the fact that both console games and the consoles themselves are often released in europe several months after the US release is one of the big reasons why computer gaming has a bigger market share in europe. As long as europe is treated as a second class citizen by console makers, their marketshare will be smaller.

          By the way, when is the 360 coming to the rest of the world?
      • 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.
      • We are talking about a difference of 8 days, it isn't that much of a snub to japan, or even that much of a victory for europe.

        Microsoft really messed up in japan with the first xbox, if you dont know games then there would be no obvious reason to think that japan is either a) a hugely influential videogame market or b) that the market and whole videogame culture is significantly different from the west.

        It really was a rookie mistake on Microsofts part, surely at some point someone with a clue must of reali

      • Re:That's a first (Score:5, Funny)

        by elrous0 ( 869638 ) on Thursday September 15, 2005 @10:14AM (#13566706)
        It's going to look like MS snubbing the country.

        Bill's just letting them know that he hasn't forgotten Pearl Harbor.

        -Eric

      • Yeah, Microsoft wouldn't want to dishonor the Japanese gamer by releasing the console a few weeks later...in a country that still for the most part says it has no interest in a non-Japanese console.

        They SHOULD snub Europe...just to screw them over for the support they gave the Xbox already.

        I love the business advice given by geeks on Slashdot. The 'screw over your current customers to make your potential customers happy' is something that they don't teach in regular business school. Maybe business schools
      • "They're not going to like it and the 360 is going to suffer from a draught of good Japanese games,"

        Change 360 to Xbox and "going to" to "currently" as in:
        "They're not going to like it, and the Xbox is currently suffering from a draught of good Japanese games,"

        Yea, that's right, no major change!

    • Re:That's a first (Score:5, Insightful)

      by dividedsky319 ( 907852 ) on Thursday September 15, 2005 @09:26AM (#13566245)
      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:That's a first (Score:2, Informative)

      by PePeBoTiKa ( 903062 )
      Yes, bue the japanese edition is A LOT less expensive

  • Last (Score:3, Funny)

    by coolnicks ( 865625 ) on Thursday September 15, 2005 @09:05AM (#13566031)
    Well at least were not last to get it.

  • YES! (Score:5, Funny)

    by RealityMogul ( 663835 ) on Thursday September 15, 2005 @09:05AM (#13566034)
    I honestly can't wait for this thing to hit the shelves. I will be first in line... to pick up a discounted original XBox.

    • If they severely discounted it, I might pick one up and hack it. For about $100 [accurateit.com] you can pick up a Pentium III 733 MHz system with similar specs except for maybe the video system.

      If it was down to $60 or so, you could have a cheap and effective box to run a Linux PVR from, and perhaps even the ability to play an XBox game (are there any good XBox games?).

      • Re:YES! (Score:3, Funny)

        by Anonymous Coward
        are there any good XBox games?

        Are you kidding? There are *tons* of great XBOX games:

        - Halo
        - Halo 2

        What more could you want?
      • If it was down to $60 or so, you could have a cheap and effective box to run a Linux PVR from, and perhaps even the ability to play an XBox game (are there any good XBox games?).

        The XBOX has no TV in capabilities. I haven't seen any mods for a TV in either. If you have seen a hack for this please send a link.
        • Well, the only way around this that i have seen are twofold:
          1: get a usb tv tuner that has linux drivers, and run linux on the ol xbox. Problem is, the usb is 1.1, not really fast enough for good quality.
          2: mythtv. Run a myth frontend on the xbox while having another computer doing the backend recording someplace else in the house/apartment/whatever. This way you can record while watching another show and not worry about the horsepower of the xbox doing both those at once (if it would even be possible).

          I
          • I tend to run XBMC with my XBOX. When I get around to hacking my DirectTV TIVO I should be able to share the TIVO streams. If you have directTV you may want to go that route.
    • You can have mine on the 23rd...

  • I am not excited (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 15, 2005 @09:07AM (#13566048)
    I purchased the PS2 and the XBox on release, but the XBox 360 does not have me excited. It doesn't use HD DVD, but standard DVD, costs 400 with hard drive. Wireless is extra, extra controllers are a lot extra. Games are 60 dollars and it doesn't play XBox games.

    Where is the advantage in buying this thing? It's not really a huge leap in technology and it's not much to get excited about.

    The PSP I bought (v1.5) is a much more interesting device, especially since I have to fly so frequently.

    • Re:I am not excited (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Spaceman Spiff II ( 552149 ) <gabe@gabedurazo.com> on Thursday September 15, 2005 @09:15AM (#13566123) Homepage
      I know what you mean, but hey, at least it looks pretty cool. ;-)

      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!

      Tune in at 7PM tonight to see what his announcement is.

      • Re:I am not excited (Score:5, Insightful)

        by thatguywhoiam ( 524290 ) on Thursday September 15, 2005 @09:41AM (#13566346)
        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...

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

          Oh, c'mon. We know that it will be a black rectangle and that it will have nifty controllers. Isn't that enough?

        • Re:I am not excited (Score:5, Informative)

          by lurker4hire ( 449306 ) on Thursday September 15, 2005 @10:01AM (#13566541) Homepage
          Well, I can't speak for the grandparent poster, but here's why I'm excited for the revolution.

          1. Known company with proven (to me, through personal experience) commitment to keeping games fun and trying interesting things with hardware (some fails sure, but at least they're trying)

          2. Ability to play every nintendo console game! I missed N64 so I'm really looking forward to that. (btw this is a feature announced at E3)

          3. A feeling that they'll try to keep the cost to consumer down. They've pretty much got the low cost thing down, and I'm hoping it'll be a console I don't have to think too hard about picking up. The 360 and PS3 are too expensive to 'just buy' I need to wait and see which is better before making a purchase of that size.

          Put all that together and I'm excited... I'm also excited about both the 360 and ps3, but more so to determine which of the two I will buy. I was actually hoping for a more media centre type function from the 360, so it's making me lean more toward waiting and seeing rather than buying anyways.
          • Ability to play every nintendo console game! I missed N64 so I'm really looking forward to that. (btw this is a feature announced at E3)

            You misread the feature. It will only be able to play games released for it, which won't be every game. The real feature is a download service for these games.

        • Re:I am not excited (Score:5, Insightful)

          by jiushao ( 898575 ) on Thursday September 15, 2005 @10:02AM (#13566552)
          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.

          • 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

        • Re:I am not excited (Score:2, Insightful)

          by 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, a

    • Re:I am not excited (Score:2, Informative)

      by radish ( 98371 )
      It doesn't use HD DVD, but standard DVD
      True. But that's mainly because HD DVD doesn't really exist yet (in saleable quantities).

      costs 400 with hard drive
      With a hard drive, and a wireless controller, and a headset, and a remote control and component video cables. If you add up the price of those extras for the current Xbox, it's probably around $100. Add that to the Xbox original launch price ($299) and, well, whaddya know.

      Wireless is extra
      Yup, and the wireless adapter is overpriced. However, there's nothing
      • To even more debunk the grandparent:

        With a hard drive, and a wireless controller, and a headset, and a remote control and component video cables. If you add up the price of those extras for the current Xbox, it's probably around $100. Add that to the Xbox original launch price ($299) and, well, whaddya know.

        Thats probably closer to $200. The component video cable is in the $60 range, the headset and adapter is nearly $50. Remote control is $30. Wireless controllers vary but the good ones are at least $6

    • I don't think I've ever bought a consol based on the hardware, nor do I ever plan to.

      Proprietary games are what get me to buy a consol.

    • Re:I am not excited (Score:3, Interesting)

      by supabeast! ( 84658 )
      I agree, the Xbox 360 launch is pretty bland. I think that the biggest problem is a lack of hyped games - there was the big crazy launch party where they showed a bunch of CGI rendered on Powermacs and claimed it was what we'll be playing, and then went into hiding. Due to this big lack of important press, if I got an Xbox 360 for launch, I don't even know what the hell I'd be able to do with. If Microsoft wants to avoid stores with huge overstocks of Xbox 360s on December 26, they really need to shut up ab

    • Re:I am not excited (Score:5, Informative)

      by ColdForged ( 453024 ) on Thursday September 15, 2005 @09:51AM (#13566427) Homepage
      Amazing that essentially a "yawn" gets an "Interesting" moderation.

      It doesn't use HD DVD, but standard DVD

      Does anything? Should they hold up the release date and tack on another $100 -- at least -- to the price for HD-DVD when no one else has it and there's no software for it aside from games?
      Wireless is extra, extra controllers are a lot extra.

      A wireless controller is included in that $400 you just mentioned with the hard drive. And since when are extra controllers ever included?
      Games are 60 dollars and it doesn't play XBox games.

      Really? The first-party ones I've seen are still $50. And it will support Xbox games if you have the hard drive, though precisely which Xbox games is still a matter of confusion.
    • I've seen the gameplay footage of the 360, and I thought it was suprisingly lackluster. Of all the mindless fanboyism I see when I walk into my local game store, I'm really not excited about this device. I think it's going to be a disappointment.

      As for the PSP, I have to admit, I'm very happy with the purchase. It took me a few months to finally get one (Will I really use it? Is it worth the expense? etc.), but I absolutely love the bugger.

      The fact that it has a built-in browser is delicious on those few oc

  • Has Microsoft announced an official retail price at all or is it still speculation? I saw no mention of it in the press release.
    • Ah yes, the XBoX 360 will come if 36 different flavors ranging in cost from $36 bucks to a full $3600. This will be the test bed for the Windows Vesta launch. Microsoft if holding their fingers and hoping for a good lanuch. I'm not holding mine.

    • Re:Official MSRP? (Score:3, Informative)

      by Andy_R ( 114137 )
      Try reading the last paragraph...

      Microsoft also announced Japanese pricing of Xbox 360... Xbox 360 system, ... 20GB detachable Xbox 360 Hard Drive [hype] an Xbox 360 Wireless Controller, an Xbox 360 Media Remote control, an Xbox 360 Headset, a Component HD-AV Cable ... an Ethernet cable and batteries, at 37,900 JPY.*

      * Actual retail prices may vary.

      At today's rates, that's $343.332 US or 190.090 GBP

    • Re:Official MSRP? (Score:5, Informative)

      by Morgon ( 27979 ) on Thursday September 15, 2005 @09:19AM (#13566166) Homepage
      US:

      Xbox 360 "Core System" (no HDD, wired controller only) $299.99
      Xbox 360 "Premium" (HDD, Wireless, headset, remote) $399.99

      Japan:
      Xbox360 Premium Edition, $349.99

      So MS screwed the USA twice on this deal.. first by contridicting every single one of their interviews and announcements since before E3 ("one sku only", "wireless and hdd", "around $300"), but the ONE thing that the US wants (one sku for a decent price), they're giving to Japan.

      The Xbox/MS Games team was the only part of MS that "got it"... now it seems like the business practices plaguing the rest of the company are slowly infecting the last bastion of customer appreciation.
      • I should clarify that the Japan pricing is an approximate US dollar conversion... not that it shouldn't be apparent by the dollar sign.
      • US: Xbox 360 "Core System" (no HDD, wired controller only) $299.99 Xbox 360 "Premium" (HDD, Wireless, headset, remote) $399.99
        Or will every dealer be requiring that I buy it as part of an expensive "bundle" with half a dozen games (only two of which I actually want)?

  • games at release (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Red Flayer ( 890720 ) on Thursday September 15, 2005 @09:13AM (#13566112) Journal
    "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'.

  • Preorders? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by DanthemaninVA1 ( 750886 )
    Too bad the only preorders you can get for it online are for $600 and up bundles. Anybody know where you can preorder the vanilla $400 bundle?

  • Somebody wake me when Halo-3 ships... That's when I'll think about getting one.

  • Pretty Good Timing (Score:5, Informative)

    by blueZhift ( 652272 ) on Thursday September 15, 2005 @10:06AM (#13566621) Homepage Journal
    Coming out on Nov 22 is actually pretty good timing. The weekend after Thanksgiving is generally one of the biggest shopping days in the U.S.. So with smart marketing, they should move a fair number of Xbox 360s just on the wave of shopping. The two questions I would have are, what new games will be available, and what current popular Xbox titles will run on it?

    If they do well enough, Xbox 360 will be considered the hot item of the holiday season and sell even better. As always though, the games will tell the tale.
    • the only problem I see is that most people wont "Get" them till christmas. If your parents buy you one, you gotta wait till xmas, and then games after that. But i suppose microsoft aleady has your money by then
    • Coming out on Nov 22 is actually pretty good timing.

      It's not just good, it's terrific timing! MS are damn brilliant at marketting.

      The problem is that everyone's so dismayed at the crappiness of the 360 machine, even the Xbox supporters. (I have an Xbox1 and I love it, I consider myself a supporter. It's my main CD player and secondary DVD player, and it works great. And I think I have an Xbox game somewhere too. Oh yeah, it's MechAssault, for launching Linux.)

      3 cores is good in principle, but they're a

  • Who is going to buy it and why? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by DrXym ( 126579 ) on Thursday September 15, 2005 @10:48AM (#13567052)
    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.

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