Xbox One console release date set by Microsoft

[mmadhankumar]

Microsoft will launch the Xbox One, its latest games console, on 22 November.

It will initially be available in 13 countries - UK, US, Ireland, Canada, Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Austria, Brazil, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand.

Remaining markets will follow in early 2014, the company confirmed.

The timing of the launch will mean it beats close rival Sony's PlayStation 4 to the shelves in much of the world by one week.

The exception is North America, where Sony's console will be available on 15 November.

The releases set up the first new console war since 2006, the last time both firms had fresh gaming machines on the market.

Xbox's marketing vice-president, Yusuf Mehdi, announced the firm's rollout plans in a statement.

"The culmination of many years of listening to you, our fans, developing innovative technology, and partnering with the best game and entertainment partners in the industry has brought us to this point," he said.

"There is still a lot more work to do, but the teams are making excellent progress and are focused on launch."

He confirmed that the console recently entered full production in preparation for the launch. Pre-orders had sold out faster than any of the company's previous gaming products, Mr Mehdi said.

He also confirmed that the console's CPU had been upgraded by around 10% - from 1.6Ghz to 1.75Ghz.



Read More: BBC News - Xbox One console release date set by Microsoft