Microsoft have finally announced the launch date for its upcoming next generation console, the Xbox One. The system will be will be available on November 22nd, 2013 in all 13  markets:  Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, UK, and USA.

The PlayStation 4 on the other hand comes out on November 15th in North America and November 29th in Europe. This makes sure that the PS4 will get a head start in North America but will be launching almost a week later compared to the European launch of Xbox One. Given that both markets are substantially similar, we should have interesting sales figure after 2-3 months of the consoles respective release.

Check out the full interview with Yusuf Mehdi above.

Yusuf Mehdi, Corporate Vice President of Marketing, Strategy and Business, Xbox had the following to say about the launch day announcement:

“First, we hit an important milestone as we began full production of the Xbox One console recently.  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.  There is still a lot more work to do, but the teams are making excellent progress and are focused on launch.”

Coincidentally the Xbox 360 was launched the same day in North America, 8 years ago in November, 2005.

“November 22 is a special day in Xbox history – on this day, we first launched Xbox 360 in 2005 [North America and Canada]. Our next chapter begins in 79 days, when Xbox One becomes available. We built Xbox One to bring you the best games, unrivaled multiplayer and more entertainment than ever before. It’s nearly time to say “Xbox On” and open a new world of games and entertainment,” he added.

Next generation is upon us and judging by how Microsoft have corrected their strategy in the past few months, it will surely be an interesting battle with Sony.

This could be a place-holder date, sure, but it’s the same for separate accessories like the controller and for the Forza Motorsport 5 bundle as well. As it stands, only third party titles like Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag and Watch_Dogs have December 31st as their release dates. Only Microsoft-specific products list November 27th.

It’s highly likely that these products will come out before November 27th, especially since Call of Duty: Ghosts is set to be a launch title for the Xbox One and will be coming out on November 5th worldwide.

We’ll have to wait and know for sure. Fun fact though: Halo Xbox One is being listed for December 31st 2014. Who wants to bet it skips next year altogether?