Microsoft's Mad Rush to Release the 360

It's crunch time for Microsoft as next week's global debut of the Xbox 360 looms ever larger. What sort of drastic steps were required? Details inside.

The Xbox 360's world debut is now just days away but Microsoft has kept mum on how many consoles it's going to have at launch. In the absence of official comments, rumours and speculation have led to all sorts of conspiracy theories about organized shortages - something Microsoft's Peter Moore says is "ridiculous".

Perfect Dark Zero was rushed to make the launch

"I've seen all of the conspiracy theories. Somewhere in Roswell, New Mexico, we have a hangar where we're stockpiling it, creating false shortages. No," Moore told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Moore stressed that Microsoft is, "trying to get as many units to retail as we possibly can."

Microsoft's hesitance to go on the record with estimates of how many boxes it will have on day one is exemplary of what some are calling a rushed release. Several executives in the company have said that the near-simultaneous worldwide release of the console has caused a lot of problems.

Moore defended Microsoft's decision to go global from the off and said the company would set a new standard for how hardware is released:

"I think when the dust settles, it will be proven to be the right thing, and it will become the default way that you launch a videogame console in our industry."

And it's not just the hardware that has been slow in coming.

Microsoft revealed earlier this week that it sent off its flagship launch title, UK-based developer Rare's first-person shooter Perfect Dark Zero, without sending the game through Microsoft's rigorous certification process, so that it could be there on shelves when the hardware launches in North America next week.

Don't worry about the game arriving buggy, though. Rare's Jim Veevaert told news site Next Generation that had the pre-release testing found any problems the game would have been called back.

As it turns out, Perfect Dark Zero made it through certification unscathed. And it's a good thing too. Microsoft is expecting to sell a copy of the long-awaited game to every person who buys an Xbox 360.

The Xbox 360 is set to make its worldwide debut in North America on 22 November, with the European release following on 2 December.

Look for Kikizo's full reviews of the Xbox 360 launch library within the next few days.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games