Posted December 31, 1969 by Scott Parrino

November 22 of 2005 marks the day all gamers have been waiting for: Xbox 360.

At the time of this article, the Xbox 360 will hit North American stores in 6 hours. When that clock strikes midnight, local supporting stores will be swamped with gamers, mothers getting their children a nice Christmas present and other people who have been following the Xbox 360 since its inception. No surprise that those who have reserved their Xbox 360 are anxious to go and get theirs and play a few of the more than 20 titles at launch. Unfortunately this writer will not be joining in on the madness that will be the launch, but rather waiting it out until his funds are available.

What does the launch of Xbox 360 mean to me? It is something of a change for myself since I was able to first play on a console as a young child. As I grew, so did gaming and consoles like Super Nintendo, Sega CD, Jaguar, 3DO, Nintendo 64 came and went. I don?t think I haven?t tried a console that has been launched in North America, even the Virtual Boy. With the Xbox 360 however, it is a significant change from previous consoles like Playstation 2 and Xbox. Wireless technology in the controllers are standard, eliminating pesky wires where some idiot can possibly trip over and pull the cord out and Scorpion is now standing there getting wailed on. Playing games on Xbox Live! Receives an upgrade to check out other gamers and their Gamer Card and get messages to play a round or two. Hook up your Xbox 360 to the TV, to your sound system, to your PSP, to your iPod, to your dog. Okay, not the last one but you see where I?m going. The Xbox 360 is beginning to change the face of console gaming. Gamers now can incorporate their Xbox 360 into their living room as a media center. The possibilities are endless and the evolution of the console continues.



Right now though I am sure what is going through those people standing in line awaiting their Xbox 360 are the games. With more than 20 games at launch the selection is varied and gamers of all aspects are able to get their hands on the games that they want to play from the start. First-person shooters like Quake 4, Call of Duty 2 and Perfect Dark Zero are available at the start; sports games like NHL 2K6, NBA Live 06 and Madden NFL 06; you catch my drift. No one will be disappointed at the launch, games you like to play are there, ready for you. And much, much more are to come.

I want to thank all you readers out there who have been coming to GamePlasma to check out the info we have been giving you. It feels great to write this and know that there are those out there that want to know as much as they can. Covering the Xbox 360 since its rumors of being ?Xbox 2?, its unveiling in May, and now to the point of launch. This is the culmination of many gamers who have joined us in this journey. After tonight you will all start seeing reviews come in for Xbox 360.

With the release of the Xbox 360, GamePlasma has created a new forum just for that system in ForumPlasma. Follow this link here and join in on discussions about the Xbox 360; like games, its features, anything and everything about it.

For those that are not getting their Xbox 360 tonight and would like to pass the time until they do, here are articles that relate to the Xbox 360:

E3 2005: Xbox 360

May in Review and E3 Wrap-Up

Microsoft Reveals Xbox 360 on MTV

For more information on Xbox 360, follow this link to their official site.

Scott Parrino
Editor-in-Chief