Perfect Dark Zero HD Trailer
Kameo: Meet Major Ruin! (720p)

We are now at T-minus 4 days and counting till the release of the Xbox 360, and so far everything has been quiet on the PS3 front. Well I wouldn’t say quiet; more like nothing earth shattering, nothing amazing, and certainly nothing that would make a gamer wait for the PS3 before buying an Xbox 360.

I stand by my article, I stand by my source. However, if we hear NOTHING from either camp (Sony or Rockstar) by January, I’ll issue a retraction on the FRONT page offer my forgiveness curse my “source” and hope I can regain a tiny shred of credibility with you all.

Now you're wondering, does this mean that the non-Live-like PlayStation online news confirmed? Since it was previously reported that PlayStation’s online would be used as an Xbox 360 spoiler. I’m afraid so.

With the recent announcements of the new incredibly robust Xbox Live, Sony would be hard pressed to create an online service that compares or surpasses that in the timeframe allotted towards launch in spring of 2006. One developer is already saying that the online service is same as it ever was.

If there is no announcement by Sony either today or Monday, then it means one of two things:

1) Sony either has nothing concrete to announce.

Or

2) Sony is feeling super confident in their dominance in the Next Generation of console gaming.

My money is on the later. It would appear to me that Sony is almost going to let Microsoft have their day in the sun, sell what they can, then attempt to crush them once the Holiday Season is over.

Save for a new Dragon Quest, there are no major releases coming for the PS2 this winter that have people up in arms. Nothing exclusive at least. So there goes Ken’s assertion that Xbox 360 will compete with the PlayStation 2. The PSP now has Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City, which so far has been the best reviewed game for the PSP. And while sales of the PSP have been steady, they have not taken off as many had predicted would happen.

So where does that leave Sony?

To quote Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto: "I fear that we have awakened a sleeping giant and filled him with a terrible resolve."

Cries of Xbox 1.5 will not stop the upcoming onslaught. Things are looking mighty good for Microsoft right now.

However: Do not underestimate Sony by any stretch. The PlayStation 3 will still be an incredible gaming machine with many functional extras thrown in for good measure. There is more to the PlayStation 3 than just its specs; we all know that, we just don’t know what it is.

I’m not sure if we can expect any announcements prior to Xbox 360’s launch day. But I can assure you that there will be announcements soon.

Sony is also a sleeping dragon., we will find that out very soon.

Semper Fi!

Needless to say, we now have two "Crew" going. Mazrim (ya'll remember him) and either Wingnut or Chris will be joining us. All in all, we should have 2 laptops and 1 (possibly two) video cameras down there.

I live in the Bay Area in northern california, and i'll be making the long drive down on saturday. I'm going to be picking up Tony about two hours south of me and we'll be blogging ALOT from then on. Brett, (Who is in the middle of a major site redesign) is making a seperate blog for that, which will be reachable by clicking on the featured story. Basically you can expect updates every two hours or so nearly 24 hours a day from saturday night to tuesday morning.... There will be lots of pictures and the entries will be from everybody whose going.

Once we get to the event itself, theres about a 50% chance that we'll be able to snag a backstage tour of the event before it opens, which would include some interview time with Peter Moore and J Allard, no promises on that, but it's been mentioned multiple times. As to the video portion of things, there will be many videos. Many many many videos. Due to bandwidth constraints, we're going to be letting Filerush.com host them, but they'll all be available for torrenting down as soon as its humanly possible for us to get them online. All in all from this event there should be about 6 or 7 hours of video from our trip, there will be some editing but not much. At the end of the event we're gonna put together a "Best of" video that showcases all the highlights, so that'll be around to. Anyone who wants to volunteer to help us seed these video torrents should contact me at andy@gamerandy.com because we're gonna need all the help we can get.

At least one of the videos is going to be done GamerAndy Live! podcast style, I've already secured an interview with Xbox Live's Major Nelson and we're going to be searching out reps from gaming companies to question ruthlessly - lots of man on the street style interviewing going on, it's going to be a blast.

Heres the wrapup: GamerAndy.com is gonna be your source for Zero Hour coverage and footage, I know there are lots of people who really wanted to make it to this event but can't (Looking at you, hawkes) so we're making it our goal to give YOU the full on launch party experiance.

Next up Site Redesign
Our Web Guru Brett has resurfaced after a 3 week hiatus, and he's got some killer plans for the site. I mentioned this in an earlier update but we're getting close to launching the new design (It will be up before sunday) and I just wanted to once again extol the virtues of this guy - Bloody incredible. Functionally, the site will be the same, no new features. But the design is going to be alot cleaner and there will be a consistent navbar at the top of the page giving you easy access to all our content. Soon after that comes online, the forums will be integrated into the site itself, it'll all be MUCH smoother. I've seen the mockups, and it looks incredible - One big bonus is the text window where our entries go is getting a ton wider so we won't have such squished entries anymore. A big round of applause for this guy, he's my hero.

Finally, Andy's Radio Holiday
Basically, on December 22nd at 10pm PST i'm going to be a guest on KGO 810AM talking gaming in the christmas season, what parents should be getting their kids, gaming politics, etc. for an hour with Edie Sellers. This is a big deal to me. KGO is the 2nd largest radio station in the USA and that particular time slot is listened to by more than 3,000,000 people. I ranted about this at large in the Forums Check it out if you want more info.

Okay folks, thats about it for me tonight - Big things are happening, big things indeed....
If you have any questions about any of this, or if you have anything you want us to concentrate on at Zero Hour, (Like say, if you really want us to get some footage of the PD0 online tourney) then email me at andy@gamerandy.com.

-Andy

From WhiteHouse.GOV:

Today President George W. Bush announced the recipients of the Nation's highest honor for science and technology, naming the recipients of the 2004 National Medal of Science and National Medal of Technology.

The National Medal of Technology honors individuals who embody the spirit of American innovation and who have advanced the Nation's global competitiveness. Their vision and accomplishments have helped commercialize new technologies, create jobs, improve American productivity, and stimulate the Nation's economic growth and development. This award, established by Congress in 1980, is administered by the Department of Commerce.

IBM, ILM, Motorola, and Ralph Baer. It's fitting really.

What's that? WHO IS RALPH BAER?!?!

Young people today.

Ralph Baer: Invented Video Games.

He did, click the above link, and then click on "Inventions and Products"

He did it in 1966.

The man invented Pong guys! He is the ground zero of the Xbox's and PlayStation's and Sega's and Nintendo's and Atari's of this world.

He is, in short, exactly why each of us is reading this and other sites like it.

Tonight, I will go home, put my son to bed, pour a shot of Southern Comfort for myself and my wife, and raise it towards the south of my house. Since Mr. Baer lives about 50 miles south of me.

"To you Ralph, Cheers!"

Semper Fi!

Then all we'll have left to remember him by is an unpleasent taste in our collective mouths whenever we think about "Pixelantes" or Mr. Swift's "Modest Proposal".

That however, is neither here nor there - Whats news today (this story is blatantly stolen from Next-Gen.biz) is that ol' JT has released a book! It's a sultry jaunt down memory lane, in which Jack spends most of it talking about himself in the third person... From the book:

Another fun fact is that it looks like this baby will be ripe for the bargain bin in the very near future. Debuting at around the 25,000 slot on amazon.coms best seller list, after the reviews hit it plummetted to 37,076 yesterday morning. For a good time, you can read the reader reviews which are frankly pretty brutal, but I imagine very honest. I'll be frank here: I don't like the guy (as if you don't know that) and I'm happy to see him failing at everything he does. BUT... I'm still gonna try to track down a copy at my library (Definately not gonna give him any money) and do a comprehensive book review. Expect it in 2-3 weeks (Assuming I find a library that carries it)

-Andy

The actual game software will contain a code indicating the rating, which will activate the control system to remain locked or unlocked. The feature will be included in every Revolution worldwide.

"Even though most Nintendo games are appropriate for all ages and the game ratings are clearly displayed on the front of every game package, this added feature encourages parents to take responsibility for the games their children play," said Jim Merrick, Senior Marketing Director, Nintendo of Europe

UPDATE 2: Sony Denies it. Per Joystiq and other places.

And so that ends that!

Hi folks, Cooper Hawkes here with an interesting scoop from a visitor to our site who calls himself Ethan.

For those of you who can read Japanese, the link is here.

This is supposedly a Japanese patent site, and this was the body of the e-mail from Ethan:

SCE has secured the patent for a new disc technology that, if used, would not allow the PS3 to read used games for that platform. The technology was invented by Kutaragi himself, as well as two others.

Details regarding the patent are featured here:(ED: The link I posted above)

It is indicated specifically that the technology is to prevent the use of used as well as pirated software.

The technology involves actually rendering a authentication code originally encrypted on the game disk unreadable to other machines once the disk it is used.

This would mean that Net-based and other such games will not be the only ones to be affected by the technology.

Naturally third software developers would embrace this technology, and it would ensure sales of the inevitable "Best series" for the PS3, but used games shops would be put out of business if the PS3 were to become the primary platform in the next generation.

While information regarding the patent does not specify outright that the technology will be used in the PS3, Kutaragi has gone on record saying that copy management is absolutely necessary in order to endure that no "Napsters" of the game industry create problems in the future.

Now before I go off on a rant, let's talk about the positive aspects of this little scheme.

My biggest problem with places like EB Games and GameStop is that they basically double-dip the customers and do not compensate the developers for it. You buy a game from them for $49.99, now let’s (for the sake of argument) say the game cost them $39.99. That’s $10.00 profit right there. Then two weeks later you resell the game BACK to them which they will happily buy from you for $15.00 if you’re lucky. They then repackage it as used and since its only two weeks since the game came out, put it BACK on the shelf for $44.99. Once purchased by someone else, that’s an extra $29.99 in their pocket.

Amount to developer of game? $0.00

And that’s bullshit.

Now you can argue that they already received a profit from the initial sale, but that argument becomes torn down when you realize that not only is the developer getting screwed, so is the gamer.

Try this sometime, buy a game you really want, do not open it, then walk into a GameStop and ask how much they will give you for it, bear in mind that you purchased it just that day. You will get less than half the price you paid and they will profit and not share said profit with the people who made the game.

Now you’ll say: Well what about when I sell a game to someone, does this mean I have to pay the developers?

No, that’s completely different, your one person selling one game and you’re not profiting on it, you’re only getting some of it back. GameStop and EB Games are already making a decent buck, they are turning around, screwing the customers and the people that provide them with their merchandise to dip deeper into our pockets.

And you wonder why Valve uses Steam?

Ok, for that I’m in agreement with. And that’s about all I can say.

Because Sony’s little proprietary (if indeed it is going to exist) system check takes away our choice of ever using it at a friends house, or sell it to someone later on because we didn’t like it, or trade it for something else from a friend of yours. Also: How will it take into consideration if your system has to be REPLACED due to malfunction? Don't even get me started on the brick GameFly, Blockbuster and other rental places would shit.

I would normally file this under Bullshit, but considering Sony’s recent Rootkit debacle, I can’t help but wonder if it is true.

I’m keeping an eye on this one, and so should you: This is the removal of your freedom to do what you want with games you have legally purchased, and that sucks. I'm all for protecting intellectual property, but not at the expense of taking choice away from the consumer.

Keep your eyes open folks.

Questions? Comments? STFU? Send them to Hawkes

Semper Fi!

UPDATE: Joystiq managed to find an English translated version of the patent. Click here to read it all.

you might want to stress that this is cosmetic only, there won't be any new features ya know?

great quote, thanks

oh haha that wasn't meant to be my quote
but if you want to use it go for it

I was gonna say something about how the site will have an all new cleaner look that further refines what we're all about.

So there you have it! Straight from Brett's brain! (via his keyboard then my AIM client, then my copy paste function).

Expect a significant change in layout, but no change in function - GamerAndy.com 3.0 coming soon!
-Andy

So the other part of this is that right now you can buy a card from EB games for 20 bucks that has a code on it worth 1600 points.

Doing the math we see that from that card you're buying each point at 1.25¢

With "Gamer Pictures' weighing in between 20 (25¢) and 60 (75¢) points each, its easy enough to find a few pictures you like, and be done with it. I know there are people out there who are gonna go nuts and buy everything they can get their hands on, but personally I'll probably pick up the 20 buck card at launch, buy a few icons, definately pick up Joust for 400 points (Absolutely worth 5 bucks, my favorite old school game ever) and then sit on the rest of it until something pops up that I can't resist.

All in all, I think this is going to be an absolute cash cow for MS and game devs.... Now we only need the episodic content and i'm sold.... Full press release in the beyond

In anticipation of the next generation console launch, Microsoft today announced that more than 400 pieces of downloadable Xbox Live Marketplace content—including free interactive demos for games like; “FIFA Soccer 06 Road to the 2006 FIFA World Cup” (Electronic Arts), “Kameo: Elements of Power” (Microsoft Game Studios), “Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie” (Ubisoft), “NBA LIVE 06” (Electronic Arts), and “Need for Speed Most Wanted” (Electronic Arts) as well as new music videos from Franz Ferdinand and Audioslave courtesy of Epic Records—will be available to Xbox 360 fans starting November 22nd. Freely accessible to anyone with a broadband connection, Xbox Live Marketplace is a digital download center providing free and premium content for games, as well as entertainment content such as movie trailers and music videos.

Premium Xbox Live Marketplace content will be available for purchase with Microsoft Points™. Microsoft Points is a new stored-value system that will let consumers purchase a number of points, and then redeem those points for content online, ranging from gamer pictures and themes to full game downloads on Xbox Live Arcade. Microsoft Points will be available for purchase at participating retail stores and via the Xbox Live Dashboard. In North America, consumers can purchase a card worth 1600 Points for an MSRP of $19.99. Offers in the dashboard will range from 500 points and up.

On November 22nd, Xbox 360 users who connect their console to a broadband connection and create an Xbox Live membership, either the paid Gold membership or free Silver membership, can look forward to content such as:

Amped 3 (2K Sports)
- Game Trailer (free)
- 10 Gamer Pictures (20 points each)
- 1 Theme (150 points)

Call of Duty® 2 (Activision Inc.)
- Game Trailer (free)
- 7 Gamer Pictures (20 points each)
- 2 Gamer Picture Bundles (40 – 80 points each)
- 1 Theme (150 points)

Condemned: Criminal Origins (SEGA Corp)
- Game Trailer (free)
- 10 Gamer Pictures (20 points each)
- 1 Theme (150 points)

FIFA Soccer 06 Road to 2006 FIFA World Cup (Electronic Arts Inc.)
- Game Trailer (free)
- EA Sports Trailer (free)
- Game Demo (free)
- FIFA Team Logo Gamer Pictures (60 points each)
- FIFA Team Logo Themes (150 points each)

GUN™ (Activision)
- Game Trailer (free)
- 5 Gamer Pictures (20 points each)
- 1 Gamer Picture Bundle (80 points)
- 1 Theme (150 points)

Kameo: Elements of Power (Microsoft Game Studios and Rare Ltd.)
- Winter Warrior Pack (200 points)
- Game Trailer (free)
- Game Demo (free)
- 4 Gamer Pictures (20 points each)
- 2 Gamer Picture 5-pack Bundles (80 points each)
- 7 Themes (150 points each)

Madden NFL 06 (Electronic Arts)
- Game Trailer (free)
- EA Sports Trailer (free)
- NFL Logo Gamer Pictures (60 points each)
- Collection of All NFL Logo Gamer Pictures (500 points)
- NFL Logo Themes (150 points each)

NBA 2K6 (2K Sports)
- Game Trailer (free)

NBA LIVE 06 (Electronic Arts)
- EA Sports Trailer (free)
- Game Demo (free)

Need for Speed Most Wanted (Electronic Arts)
- Game Trailer (free)
- Game Demo (free)

NHL 2K6 (2K Sports)
- Game Trailer (free)

Perfect Dark Zero (Microsoft Game Studios and Rare Ltd)
- Game Trailer (free)

Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie (Ubisoft)
- Game Demo (free)
- Game Trailer (free)

Project Gotham Racing 3 (Microsoft Game Studios and Bizarre Creations Ltd.)
- Game Trailer (free)

Quake 4™ (Activision, id Software Inc. and Raven Software Corp.)
- Game Trailer (free)
- 7 Gamer Pictures (20 points each)
- 1 Theme (150 points)

Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 06 (Electronic Arts)
- EA Sports Trailer (free)

Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland (Activision)
- Game Trailer (free)
- 10 Gamer Pictures (20 points)
- 1 Gamer Picture Bundle (80 points)
- 1 Theme (150 points)

Plus:
- High Definition Music Video “Show Me How to Live” from Audioslave’s Live in Cuba DVD
- Music Video “Do You Want To” from Franz Ferdinand’s new album, You Could Have It So Much Better
- “Aeon Flux” HD movie trailer from Paramount
- “Pulse” HD movie trailer from Magnolia Pictures
- Penny Arcade Gamer Pictures and Themes
- Red vs. Blue Videos
- High Definition Movie Trailers and Music Videos
- Game Trailers for upcoming games
- …and much more!

The exclusive launch content also includes the next-generation Xbox Live Arcade online service, which is fully integrated into the Xbox 360 Dashboard providing a central destination for Xbox 360 gamers to download new games, access their game collections, check out new releases and experience around-the-game features. Xbox Live Arcade games will be available for 400, 800 or 1200 Points, with a majority of titles priced at 800 points or less.

Xbox Live Arcade for Xbox 360 games that will be available on November 22nd include:

• Bankshot Billiards 2™ (1200 points) – pixelStorm, Inc.
• Bejeweled 2 (800 points) – Popcap Games
• Gauntlet (400 points) – Midway Home Entertainment
• Geometry Wars Retro Evolved (400 points) – Bizzare Creations
• Hardwood Backgammon (400 points) – Silver Creek Entertainment
• Hardwood Hearts (400 points) – Silver Creek Entertainment
• Hardwood Spades (400 points) – Silver Creek Entertainment
• Hexic® HD (full version included free with Xbox 360 System) – Microsoft Game Studios
• Joust (400 points) – Midway Home Entertainment
• Mutant Storm Reloaded (800 points) – PomPom Games
• Outpost Kaloki (800 points) – Wahoo Studios
• Robotron 2084 (400 points) – Midway Home Entertainment
• Smash TV (400 points) – Midway Home Entertainment
• Wik: Fable of Souls (800 points) – Reflexive Entertainment
• Zuma (800 points) – Popcap Games

In addition, each Xbox Live Arcade game on Xbox 360 offers a fully playable trial version, , enabling gamers to experience their favorite arcade games in high-definition before deciding to purchase.

“We’re incredibly excited about providing gamers with that they want – inexpensive and entertaining digital content delivered right to their Xbox 360,” said Peter Moore, Corporate Vice President of Worldwide Marketing and Publishing for Xbox at Microsoft. “Xbox Live Marketplace puts the buying power directly into the consumer’s hands, allowing each person to choose digital content they want, when they want it.”

This review has been out for a few days, it was one of the first to come out and it's largely what made me decide that Call of Duty 2 is going to be one of my day 1 pickups.
TotalGames.net Call of Duty 2 Reviewed

The reviews are pretty legnthy, and if you don't want to bother reading them I'm gonna summarize on the extended...

Madden: Apparently very pretty, made entirely for the xbox360 and really demonstrates the power. This bad boy got 8.0 because it really didn't innovate much, though the graphics animations, sound are supposed to be absolutely incredible. It seems like EA actually put some thought into this title and rebuilt it for the next generation, unlike....

NBA 2k6: racked up a 7.5 which is fine and dandy, except the only difference between the 360 version and the xbox version is improved player models (much improved) and animations with a few more frames per second. Other than that, it's a direct port from the Xbox and that's disappointing. Really not taking advantage of everything this next-gen console has to offer.

Call of Duty 2: 94% If this site is to be trusted (I hadn't heard of it previously) then this game wins the "Most awesome" award. Judging by my play time with it, I'd have to agree with that assessment (Bear in mind I'm not really an adventure or sports gamer, but I am most certainly an FPS gamer and specifically WWII content floats my boat) One word: Flawless. It should also be noted that this is the Xbox360's first AAA title

First off here's the trouble with it. Lets see how big was FFVII oh yeah 3 Discs. Good luck trying to fit that on a NDS cartrigde (unless you have that magic N64 compression algorithm). The NDS cart can hold 125 MB and a CD can hold 650 (thats what it was back then). The FMV and Music is never going to fit even in Mpeg-4 and OGG. This rumor is complete bunk. And even if it does come out for the NDS it'll either be a bastardized version of it or just come on 20 carts.

This Rumor is Kinda Cracked. With a big 'ol No.

(btw i just made the pic for fun)

In a new survey of British gamers that covered topics from women gamers to gamers who download games illegally via P2P filesharing, a statistic that stands out is this:

PlayStation 3 set to win console war

Research from XTN Data shows the PlayStation 3 is likely to become the top-selling
console over the next year outselling the Xbox 360. One thousand games buyers
were questioned and 32% said they were likely to buy the PS3 with 27% intending to
buy the Xbox 360.

Now, that's the story that GamerAndy.com recieved in the official press release. You can take it as that, or continue reading for my thoughts on it.

Beyond that, if you actually look at the numbers (32% and 27%) and take into account the 3% margin of error here, these numbers really don't look that good for sony, especially when you compare them to the numbers of consoles owned in Britain (2 million xboxes to 24 million PS2s I believe, but I am not certain)

Really this race looks pretty damn neck and neck to me. Of course, that's not taking into account that right now we're at the peak of the Xbox360 hype with launch only 8 days away, so perhaps this is indicitive of the way things will go, but I'm just honestly not sure.

All this says to me is that MS has succeeded in making up alot of lost ground when it comes to mindshare, and Sony is making a mistake by keeping so quiet - Which I don't think will go on my longer.

Once again, my thoughts - taken with a grain of salt, they're quite tasty!
-Andy

And what are they? 18 titles as follows:

Kameo™: Elements of Power™ (Microsoft Game Studios)
Go on a journey full of magnificent exploration and innovative morph-into-monster action.

Perfect Dark Zero™ (Microsoft Game Studios)
Plunge into a world of corporate espionage and conspiracy as perfect agent Joanna Dark.

Project Gotham Racing 3 (Microsoft Game Studios)
Life begins at 170 mph with the ultimate roster of the hottest supercars in existence.

Call of Duty 2 (Activision)
Experience the cinematic intensity and chaos of epic WWII battles in this Xbox 360 exclusive.

Need for Speed™ Most Wanted (Electronic Arts)
Out-race rivals and evade coordinated police pursuits to become the most wanted street racer.

Peter Jackson's King Kong™ (Ubisoft)
Battle for survival on Skull Island as Jack Driscoll and even play as the mighty Kong himself.

Madden NFL 06 (Electronic Arts)
Get ready for the most incredibly lifelike and best looking football experience ever created.

GUN™ (Activision)
Journey through the Wild West in an immersive story of betrayal, greed, and revenge.

Condemned: Criminal Origins™ (SEGA)
Pursue serial killers lurking on the periphery of humanity through squalid urban environments.

NBA 2K6 (2K Sports)
Create your own player and guide him through all of the facets of an elite NBA career.

Ridge Racer™ 6 (Namco)
With more than 130 cars and 30 courses play all-new online modes, plus downloadable content.

Tony Hawk's American Wasteland (Activision)
Enjoy unlimited skating and BMX biking in the vast wasteland of Los Angeles with no load times.

QUAKE™ 4 (Activision)
Take the battle to the heart of the Strogg home planet as Earth's only hope for victory.

Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 06 (Electronic Arts)
Battle through five classic periods of golf with Tiger Woods and legends like Palmer and Nicklaus.

Amped 3 (2K Sports)
Get ready for a fat helping of boarding culture and huge snowboxes loaded with killer gameplay.

FIFA 06: Road to FIFA World Cup™ (Electronic Arts)
With 72 teams and 1700 players, it's a soccer lover's dream as you advance to the World Cup.

NHL 2K6 (2K Sports)
Hockey is back, so strap on your skates and take your favorite team to the Stanley Cup finals.

NBA Live 06 (Electronic Arts)
Feel the emotion and intensity with freestyle superstars and more physical play.

Not a bad list at all. What say you?

Semper Fi!

Hi folks, Cooper Hawkes here.. (Grumble grumble) with news: Seems some BeTheFirstToPlay (CANADA) winners are starting to get their Xbox 360's.

But I'm not jealous. No really.

Frack it, of COURSE I'm jealous! Lucky bastards!

And yes I mean you too Andy! :)

Anywhere, here's a link to a posting where the winner is kind enough to show shots.

For all your BeTheFirstToPlay winners: Watch for that truck!

Semper Fi!

Whoa whoa whoa, what’s going on here? Circuit City’s website has promised that Xbox 360 units will be avaliable at 2pm ET this Friday. That’s a good 3.5 days (82 hours) ahead of schedule.
Better call in sick to work on Friday if you intend to snag one, though, because that line will be forming on Thursday at some locations. Also, be prepared to shell out more than you may have budgeted, as Circuit City will only be selling systems bundled with games.
Update: more details. According to a Circuit City customer service rep we just spoke to, every physical Circuit City location will be selling the console this Friday at 2pm ET. Just to be sure, we called again and spoke to a second rep: “Yes, it will be available this Friday at 2pm ET online as well as at our stores.”

UPDATE 2: Hi Folks, Cooper Hawkes updating this article: Reader Tbyrd pointed out that the little Asterisk (*) next to the date shows:

*Available in-store Tuesday, 11/22. Web-only packages not available for pre-order or in-store pickup. We are receiving shipments on a regular basis. Please check back frequently.

Guess that settles that. Thanks Tbyrd!

-Matt