Xbox 360 Arrival Spawns Midnight Madness Frenzy

REDMOND, Wash. – Nov. 21, 2005 – In less than 24 hours, gamers and adrenaline junkies alike will converge on thousands of retail outlets to be among the first to purchase the Xbox 360Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½ next-generation video game and entertainment system from Microsoft Corp. Droves of dedicated fans are expected to line the streets as more than 4,500 retailers open their doors at 12:01 a.m. to answer the demand for the Xbox 360 console and 18 launch games, including “Perfect Dark ZeroÃ?¯Ã?¿Ã?½,” “Project Gotham RacingÃ?® 3” and “KameoÃ?¯Ã?¿Ã?½: Elements of PowerÃ?¯Ã?¿Ã?½,” from Microsoft Game Studios.

“The debut of Xbox 360 marks one of the biggest consumer launches in Microsoft’s history,” said Robbie Bach, president of the Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft and chief Xbox officer. “With its sheer power, portfolio of graphically stunning games, rich online capabilities, and features for enjoying music, movies and photos, Xbox 360 delivers integrated digital gaming and entertainment experiences that simply can’t be matched.”

More than 4,500 retailers will be holding midnight madness events. Best Buy, Microsoft’s retail partner for Xbox 360 launch events, also will open all its U.S. stores at 9 a.m. on Nov. 22. “Xbox 360 takes our customers’ gaming experience to new levels,” said Jill Hamburger, vice president of games at Best Buy. “Walk into any of our stores and you’ll feel the excitement – it’s a complete entertainment solution.”

The excitement is already being felt around the globe. More than 3,500 gamers from around the world descended on an Xbox 360 oasis in California’s Mojave Desert last night to celebrate the arrival of Xbox 360 at an exclusive launch party called Xbox 360: Zero Hour. Attendees are now engaged in more than 24 hours of Xbox 360 gameplay and tonight will have a chance to buy the console, launch games and gaming peripherals on site from Best Buy.

Xbox 360 festivities will continue as the system launches Dec. 2 in Europe and Dec. 10 in Japan.�¯�¿�½

Challenge J Allard on Xbox 360!

Xbox Live invites gamers to take part in a once in a lifetime gameplay session with J Allard on Project Gotham Racing�® 3 and Perfect Dark Zero. To celebrate the launch of Xbox 360 Xbox Vice President and Chief XNA Architect J Allard will take on Xbox Live�® members on Tuesday, November 22.

Log on to Xbox Live using your Xbox Live Gold membership between 5pm – 7pm Eastern (2pm – 4pm Pacific) and you’ll find J Allard playing Project Gotham RacingÃ?® 3 and Perfect Dark Zero in the Recreation Zone under his gamertag Ã?¯Ã?¿Ã?½HiroProtagonist’. Gamers can challenge J on multiplayer racers or watch his performance using spectator mode in PGR3.

The gamers who beat J Allard will receive a set of exclusive prizes. The winners will be announced on Xbox.com on Wednesday November 23rd.