Microsoft has finally revealed that official release date of their upcoming next-gen console, Xbox One. The console is set to hit a total of 13 markets worldwide on its release day, Friday, November 22, 2013.
Xbox One will be available in Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexio, New Zealand, Spain, the UK, and of course, here in the US.
Ever since the highly-anticipated unveiling of the Xbox One, Microsoft has been bombarded by gamer dissatisfaction. Over the past couple months, the company has changed many of the features in an attempt to win over many of the former Xbox 360 crowd, including dropping the “always on-line” structure of the console. Of course, this has also led to several of the consoles redeeming features to be dropped as well, including the ability to share games with friends and family members.
With the PlayStation 4 being released a full week before on November 15 here in North America, and at a cheaper price, Microsoft is facing some heavy competition. Sony is already well in the lead with pre-order sales, outselling the Xbox One 2-to-1, a considerable number considering that this is only the initial shipment of consoles. PlayStation 4 preorders are currently sold out, with many retailers now placing interested buyers on a “first to know” list. GameStop currently has around 1.5 million people on it’s “first to know” list versus 700k on the Xbox One list.
Of course, only time will tell which console will come ahead in the end. Xbox One will launch on November 22, for $499.