Late Night Consoling

Despite a lot of hullabaloo on Microsoft's part about a simultaneous worldwide launch for its Xbox 360 console, it seems the launch is more of a fairly-simultaneous partially-worldwide affair, as territories such as Australia will not be receiving the machine until March 2, 2006. Speaking to Reuters, the company has now announced its launch plans for certain Asian territories. While the console will hit Japan in five days, it will not launch in Korea until February 24, with Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore sharing the March 2 release date with Australia. "We wanted to make sure within the first six months that we could get the 360 into all existing Xbox 1 markets," said Alan Bowman, Microsoft's Asia-Pacific general manager for Entertainment and Devices. Bowman noted that while there were considerations internally to further delay international launches until it was certain North American demand for the machine would be met, the company decided to proceed with the planned dates.

EBay president and CEO Meg Whitman has announced that, as of last Thursday, the popular online auction site has supervised the sale of some 40,000 Xbox 360s. Best estimates put total sales for the machine between 300,000 and 400,000, meaning that between 10%-13% of all North American launch quantities of the console have changed hands via eBay. That number is sure to continue to rise, as a quick search shows over 6,500 360s currently listed on eBay, with ending auctions still fetching prices hundreds of dollars higher than retail.

An owner of an Xbox 360 console is launching a class action suit against manufacturer Microsoft over heating issues in the machine which cause crashes or error messages. Since the console's launch, the internet has seen plenty of reports about similar problems with the 360, many having to do with the power supply unit. Microsoft has acknowledge the existence of such problems but has stated that they are within the realms of what is expected with the launch of new consumer electronics products. While the issues with his console are certainly valid, the man's lawsuit (which calls for "unspecified damages and litigation-related expenses, as well as the replacement or recall of Xbox 360 game consoles") seems odd given Microsoft's extremely cooperative attitude towards repairs. The company has already replaced many units free of charge and, if reports on the internet are to be believed, with a very quick turnaround time.

Following recent rumors that Ubisoft is working on a new shooter for Revolution and the recent announcement that Free Radical is working on a next-gen shooter with Ubisoft, IGN Revolution reports that sources "close to Nintendo" have revealed that Ubisoft is working on a shooter for Nintendo's upcoming system. The article points out Free Radical's past association with Nintendo, being comprised of many former Rare developers who worked on Perfect Dark (N64) and GoldenEye (N64). More recently, Free Radical headed up the TimeSplitters series.

There was some doubt last week as to whether the PSP-themed graffiti appearing across many urban United States areas was actually the work of Sony or merely some enthusiastic and organized fans (or, some suggested, even Microsoft in an attempt to drum up negative publicity). However, Wired News has spoken with Sony about the campaign, and it is definitely the work of Sony's ad agency. The manufacturer is paying business and property owners for the right to stencil the ads onto their walls. The campaign has received mixed reactions, with various internet blogs which first covered the story coming down on both sides, and counter-graffiti by frustrated locals being spray painted over the ads.

Sega announced today that it has acquired the rights to publish the official video game of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. The announcement specified that the game would feature many sports seen the Olympics, including aquatics, archery, baseball, basketball, boxing, canoe/kayak, cycling, equestrian, fencing, football (the soccer kind), gymnastics, handball, field hockey, Judo, modern pentathlon, rowing, sailing, shooting, softball, table tennis, Taekwondo, tennis, triathlon, volleyball, weightlifting, and wrestling.

IGN takes a look at legendary studio Rare, discussing whether the commpany still has what made it great.

Matt Casamassina, long-running editor of IGN's excellent Nintendo channels, announces the launch of IGN Revolution, covering Nintendo's upcoming console.