Well, the Xbox One was finally released last night and, not surprisingly, Microsoft brought in the new console in style. The launch event took place in Times Square in New York City and Microsoft had no problem with spending some money to make the launch memorable.
I wrote yesterday about some gamers that had gotten in line on Wednesday for the Thursday night launch event, and how Major Nelson was tweeting out pictures of the crowd. I thought it was awesome of Microsoft to give each person in line a free blanket with the Xbox One logo to fight the cold weather, but that was only the beginning of Microsoft’s launch event extravagance.
In support of Forza Motorsport 5, Microsoft brought out three exotic sports cars that drove through the city to the Best Buy Theater for the event. Each of the three cars was fitted with some Xbox One-green underglow lighting, and I would be afraid to see what the bill was for those cars alone.
Well, they brought in some expensive sports cars so what else could Microsoft bring to the party, you ask? How about an army of the undead in support of Dead Rising 3? Yeah, Microsoft even had zombies walk across the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan before reaching the event at Times Square.
And last but certainly not least, Microsoft employed a group of armored cars decked out with an Xbox One paintjob to deliver the consoles to the Best Buy Theater. Now, I’m not sure an armored car painted with an Xbox One paint scheme is the smartest move for protection’s sake, but it makes for a really good publicity stunt!
It remains to be seen how the Xbox One fares in comparison to the Playstation 4 in terms of performance, etc, but Microsoft did an extremely good job of promoting the launch of the Xbox One. So, say what you want about Microsoft’s decision-making the past several months but know that Microsoft knows how to throw a party.
