Late last week, Microsoft released the much-anticipated Xbox One just in time for the holiday season. Over 1 million units were sold on the first day (remember it has a suggested retail price of $499) so those are some real numbers.
I attended the Xbox One launch party at the University Village Microsoft store in the Seattle area. A competition started at 6PM on Thursday, November 21st, with actual sales starting at midnight, or technically, 12:01AM Friday, November, 22nd. It was a made-for-TV event with all of the local stations (KOMO, KIRO, KING, KSTW) in attendance. I haven’t seen this type of frenzy since the midnight launch of Windows 95 on August 24, 1995 at pizza parties in various Computer City locations. Where did that nearly 20-years go?
Speaking of decades flying by, I was amazed at how young the 400+ attendees were at the launch party. Generation X, Millennials and even Generation Z were represented but I felt a bit lonely as a Baby Boomer, lemme tell ya! The good news is that there was ample catering remaining (see pic) when I arrived about 930PM after delivering my Windows XP Migration partner speech at Steve Banks PSSBS group at Microsoft Bellevue (Lincoln Square). So it was an evening where I soaked up the atmosphere. Folks were intently focused on the device itself, playing endless rounds of “Dead Rising 3” and “Forza Motorsport 5.”
Another boomer, Robert Deshaises, offered: “New XBox One is outstanding! Crazy Fast, fluid-no lag, great controller, TV integration, snap feature, way too many reasons to smile. And the Kinect - works fantastic. I am having a great experience!!!”
I’d offer that the evening provided a glimpse into the “new new” Microsoft and it looks very different from the “old old.” With the integration of services of Skype and beyond into the Xbox One, I’d offer that Microsoft partners better acquire one for business development purposes (and perhaps a bit of fun along the way).
