Xbox 360 Launch Set for Midnight

Electronics retailers across the country are preparing for the expected onslaught of excited gamers as the Xbox 360 officially launches on Tuesday. At least one major retailer will open its doors early, and over 4,500 others nationwide will open at midnight to begin selling the console.

To celebrate the impending launch, Microsoft held a special event called "Xbox 360: Zero Hour" in California's Mojave Desert that began Sunday night. Attendees will have the chance Monday night to buy the console, games and accessories before leaving the invite-only party.

Microsoft says Zero Hour was the first time the company had held an event of this size for gamers. The company hosted a party in 2001 for the launch of the original Xbox console, but those who had attended both said that this event was much grander in scale.

"The debut of Xbox 360 marks one of the biggest consumer launches in Microsoft's history," Microsoft's chief Xbox officer Robbie Bach said.

Along with midnight Xbox 360 sales, Best Buy said that it would open its stores an hour earlier Tuesday at 9 a.m. local time. The store urged customers to arrive early, as tickets would be issued for those waiting to buy the console.

Each store would carry a minimum of ten units. However, no pre-orders would be accepted, nor would rain checks be made available, Best Buy said.

Tuesday's Xbox 360 launch will mark the first part of a three-phase global rollout. The console will launch December 2 in Europe, and then December 10 in Japan.