American gamers get Xbox 360

Americans across the land will be the first to get their hands on the new Xbox 360 as the battle for dominance of the next generation of consoles starts today.

According to Microsoft, over 4,500 retailers threw back their doors for midnight openings to allow gamers to get their hands on a new console.

"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.

To create even more excitement, more than 3,500 gamers from around the world descended on an Xbox 360 oasis in California's Mojave Desert from Sunday night for a 48-hour gaming party called Xbox 360: Zero Hour.

The UK and the rest of Europe will be next to get their hands on the new console, but will have to wait a further 2 weeks to get their hands on the console. The launch date for the UK is the 2nd December.

The Japanese, normally the first to get new consoles thanks to Sony and Nintendo, will have to wait until the 10 December.

Some 18 games will be available for the US launch, including three flagship titles from Microsoft - Perfect Dark Zero, Kameo and Project Gotham Racing 3.

Yet while the marketing machine is in full swing with the global launch, some early press reviews in America are suggesting that the console could be a disappointment.

Without yet seeing the console, we cannot comment, however we hope have a review up in the next 2 weeks.

We will keep you posted.

>> Microsoft - Official website of Microsoft