As you're reading this, Microsoft's pre-Tokyo Game Show press conference has already started, but here we are spilling the beans on the details everyone in attendance is just finding finding out about. How cool is that?
Right off, the US launch date. We've speculated Microsoft would aim for a Thanksgiving launch and we were right; Xbox 360 will arrive Tuesday, November 22, just two days ahead of the holiday. Surprisingly enough, the company's keeping on track with their worldwide roll out; the machine will hit Europe on December 2, Japan on December 11.

Microsoft's also announcing at the conference that right at this very moment, Xbox 360s are already in production to meet the worldwide demand during the holiday season. We still don't know what to expect in terms of launch numbers, but don't look for those specifics until closer to launch, maybe even at X05.

Even though they're deep in enemy territory, Microsoft remains amped about Xbox 360. "This holiday season, gamers in Japan, Europe and North America pining to experience jaw-dropping high-definition graphics, unmatched online play and compelling digital entertainment features of Xbox 360 will finally have the chance," says Robbie Bach, chief Xbox officer at Microsoft.

Seeing as how it's Tokyo Game Show, though, the company's focusing on their overseas efforts. In addition to confirming a launch price of 37,900 YEN (almost $350 USD) for Xbox 360, Microsoft's predictably avoiding a dual SKU launch in the land of the rising sun. Japan will receive one version of Xbox 360 loaded with the removable 20GB HD, wireless controller, an media remote control, an headset, an ethernet cable, batteries and a component HD-AV cable.

Screw the hardware, though - what about the games? Microsoft's probably holding back some announcements to surprise folks at the conference, but over 40 publishers have already committed to supporting Xbox 360 in Japan, and we'll start seeing the fruits of that labor during the Tokyo Game Show in the form of this lineup:

(eM)-eNCHANT-arM (FromSoftware)
Bomberman - Act Zero (Hudson Soft)
Call of Duty 2 (Activision)
CHROMEHOUNDS (Sega)
Dead Rising (Capcom)
Dynasty Warriors 5 Special (Koei)
Everyparty (Microsoft Game Studios)
Far East of Eden - Ziria (Hudson Soft)
Final Fantasy XI (Square Enix)
Frame City Killer (Namco)
Gears of War (Microsoft Game Studios)
Kameo: Elements of Power (Microsoft Game Studios)
Mobile Suit Gundam (tentative title) (Bandai)
Need for Speed Most Wanted (Electronic Arts)
Ninety-Nine Nights (Microsoft Game Studios)
The Outfit (THQ)
Project Gotham Racing 3 (Microsoft Game Studios)
Resident Evil 5 (Capcom)
Ridge Racer 6 (Namco)
Rumble Roses XX (tentative title) (Konami)
Shutoku Battle (tentative title) (Genki Co. Ltd.)
Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega)
Saint's Row (THQ)
Test Drive Unlimited (Atari Inc.)
Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter (Ubisoft Entertainment)
World Air Force (tentative title) (Taito Corp.)
Wrestle Kingdom (Yukes)

That doesn't count some of the surprises we're sure to see on the show floor itself, but chances are most of Microsoft's aces will come out during the conference itself. 1UP has several editors in attendance, so stay tuned for the latest bombshells as they appear.

Two things, in fact, will totally make the Xbox 30 worth your while, neither of which you would have expected: The OS or interface, and Xbox Live Arcade. The Xbox 360, all on its own, is easily the most sophisticated and smartly engineered console ever. It meets more needs than any console ever, too. The core elements of this system, beyond just its raw, triple core processor and stomping GPU, are seamlessly worked into the interface and into Xbox Live in a way you'll just have to see and experience to believe. Xbox Live is going to kick serious ass over anything you've experience before.


The killer app for Xbox 360? Xbox Live Arcade.

Second, Xbox Live Arcade. I know, I know. You're thinking, "Who the F**K cares about a bunch of crappy 2D games that have been around for 20 years???!!!" I didn't before I saw Microsoft's plans for this one simple aspect of the system. But guess what? Xbox Live is a marketplace waiting to explode with old games, recent games, and new 2D games. The simple fact that you can download these games and have them forever on your system doesn't seem revolutionary. But when all of a sudden, they're not on discs, but on your hard drive, in their original form, or in HD, and playable on Live, for gamer points? Kind of interesting.

When you think of all the developers and gamers who want more 2D shooters, fighters, action games, puzzlers, and low-budget games, but that you can't play anymore because the arcade down the street closed three years ago, Xbox Live Arcade, you'll realize, becomes that new arcade. Dozens of developers can publish their own games on Xbox Live arcade, hundreds of them will in the next few years, and all of a sudden, you'll come home and be playing poker, Streets of Rage, Hexic, and Joust more than you ever have before -- against friends, recent players, who knows.

The system's capabilities, the most impressive of which is Xbox Live, and Xbox Live Arcade, are going to wow gamers perhaps more than the games themselves. Soon, you'll see.