• by Seana Mulcahy , December 5, 2005

Quick, what's the hottest must-have item for the holiday season this year? None other than the Xbox 360. Kudos to Microsoft for a buzzing prelaunch and a smashing launch. Seems like just about everyone is talking about the new Xbox. But does Xbox rock?

On Nov. 22, Microsoft held Xbox 360 day, with 18 games and 13 accessories available for its Xbox 360 system. To build buzz prelaunch, Microsoft held a special event called "Xbox 360: Zero Hour" in California's Mojave Desert. Inside a hangar in the middle of the desert was a sea of Xbox 360s hooked up to Samsung HDTVs. There was food, demos, entertainment, and gaming stations for the invite-only attendees to play the night away

Those who weren't invited to the party began scouring circulars online and offline for any word of Xbox 360s hitting the stores. On Black Friday, a fight broke out at a Maryland Wal-Mart over the first-come-first-served chaos of the store getting too few units. It took 10 police officers to break it up. The store then canceled the sale.

People have still been lining up and waiting in the cold outside big retailers in hopes of getting their hands on the product. Online retailers get a few units--then sell out within moments. Many shoppers who were lucky enough to snag one then sell it on eBay, looking for $1,200-plus.

Why the hype for a product most Americans can't get? That's the true power of a big brand big buzz launch. In fact, Microsoft says Zero Hour was the first time the company had held an event of this size for gamers. The Nov. 22 Xbox 360 launch marked the first part of a three-phase global rollout. The console will launch Dec. 2 in Europe, and then Dec. 10 in Japan. According to a recent CNN.com article, Microsoft has said it plans to sell 3 million of the new $399.99 Xbox 360 consoles worldwide within 90 days of its launch. The company said it is producing Xboxes as fast as it can. But it has conceded that this ambitious plan to launch the console worldwide within a few weeks--rather than staggering releases over months and months, as is typical--will mean fewer consoles initially in North America. Many think there's a bit of a conspiracy going on due to the limited supply. They think it was some sort of was a launch scam to drive demand. Microsoft's marketing team said the demand is far greater than the supply. After all, who wouldn't want a product with high-def graphics, kickass gaming, and the ability to download music and videos, watch DVDs, view photos and play electronic games like cards and puzzles?

So what's the secret of the success for the Xbox 360? Was it integrated advertising? Word of mouth? Bloggers and publishers writing in anticipation of the launch? Post to the Spin Board and tell us why you think or don't think Xbox rocks.