XBox 360 is now officially a part of our lives although, courtesy of the global launch, it is expected that only a few of us will be able to get their hands on a console before the Christmas break. It seems that excitement was so great about the new Microsoft console that some braved the cold and the rain to queue for more than 28 hours in order to make sure they got their hands on a unit.
Others thought they could escape the queue ordeal altogether and use other means to obtain the console. One such eager gamer visited an Electronics Boutique store in Stafford, Virginia and kindly asked the manager for two XBox 360 consoles. Imagine his surprise when he was arrested a few minutes after leaving the store since it is, apparently, illegal to point a firearm at a store employee while asking for goods.
Other X360 launch new mention fights breaking up outside some stores with police presence required in some cases. As you can imagine voucher-scalping was also going strong while the online shrine to scalping i.e. eBay is already filled with X360s selling for USD 3,000+.
So massive launch parties, long queues and armed robberies have all been a part of the N. American XBox 360 launch and what seems to be missing for the time being is the next-generation of gaming. Although delivering a massive improvement over its predecessor it cannot be claimed, by any stretch, that X360 is ushering a new era in gaming. As most of the launch games, especially those by EA, will confirm X360 games are old games in a new box. Microsoft has kept its motivation pretty clear, it is aiming at accessing our homes through a variety of services and the new console is another step in the right direction. There definitely is potential for better games but it is unlikely that it will be utilised for a few years yet, you can find out more by reading Next-Gen Consoles - The Real Deal.
