This is it: the battle for the next generation console market is on. Microsoft has finally revealed the launch date for its Xbox One machine – it will hit retail in 13 major territories including North America and the UK on 22 November.
It is an interesting and provocative timing. With Sony's rival PlayStation 4 console arriving in North America on 15 November and Europe on 29 November, Microsoft has chosen a more ambitious rollout right in the middle of its competitor's launch period. Neither manufacturer has provided a firm date for a Japanese release, reversing the traditions of previous console cycles where new devices tended to premiere in Japan.
In a statement on the Xbox Wire website, Yusuf Mehdi, the vice-president of marketing, strategy and business for Xbox wrote: "The culmination of many years of listening to you, our fans, developing innovative technology, and partnering with the best game and entertainment partners in the industry has brought us to this point. There is still a lot more work to do, but the teams are making excellent progress and are focused on launch."
Officially announced in May, the Xbox One console has had a rough journey toward its launch. Microsoft's intitial focus on the video-on-demand and live television capabilities of its machine alienated gamers, as did early indications that the console would restrict the sale of pre-owned games and that the Kinect camera device would need to be permanently switched on for games to work. Microsoft later controversially reversed these policies and since then has worked to improve the image of its device. The company enjoyed a comparatively successful showing at the recent Gamescom festival in Cologne, revealing a Call of Duty console bundle deal, as well as free copies of Fifa 14 for pre-orders of the special Day one edition of the machine.
With both "next-generation" consoles arriving on shop shelves within weeks of each other, this is one of the closest console wars the industry has seen. There was almost a year between the debut of the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3, for example. It is expected that the arrival of new hardware will provide a major boost to the $60bn a year games industry, which has seen software and hardware sales falling over the last two years.
Source: The Guardian
