Are you Xperienced?
Not yet, but you could be soon as Microsoft brings the Xbox to Britain
Microsoft have announced they will be running a series of Xbox Xperience events across the UK in the run-up to Christmas, giving gamers a chance to try out the console for themselves some four months before it finally arrives in Europe. No doubt Microsoft are hoping this will throw a spanner in the works of Sony, who are looking forward to a second Christmas sales period in Europe without any serious competition for their PlayStation 2. "Enough of the talking, this is time for gamers to make up their own minds", UK Xbox marketing boss Richard Teversham declared enthusiastically, before going off on a bizarre tangent comparing the Xbox to an album and these events to a single taken from said album. In other words, we get to see the good stuff now and then pay through the roof for a bunch of second rate filler in March. Probably. First party titles such as Halo, Oddworld : Munch's Oddysee and Project Gotham Racing are expected to be on show in the amusingly named "Play More Zone", while a "Video Zone" will bombard gamers with "action-packed FMV's, sound and light demonstrating the awesome power of the Xbox". After that you may well be in need of the "X Zone", a "futuristic chill out area to relax after the gaming fest". You will also be able to pre-order an Xbox on the spot. The first Xperience event kicks off at London's Nutopia on Saturday 17th November, and will continue there every weekend until Sunday 16th December. Meanwhile a tour of the country will take in Birmingham's Custard Factory (November 24th-25th), Manchester Freemasons Hall (December 1st-2nd, secret hand-shakes optional) and Glasgow's Lighthouse (December 8th-9th). All of these shows are open to the public for free from 10am to 7pm, and you can pre-register to get in the "priority queue" for entry to any event at MSN.co.uk/Xbox. Full details can be found in the press release. Related Feature - Happy Xmas (War Is Over)