Xbox One Release Date News: Contest Shows Late November Launch, Microsoft Discusses Console's Price

A new leak from a contest shows that the Xbox One may arrive in late November, and a senior director for Xbox makes his feelings on the $500 price tag of the Xbox One known.

The Every 2 Minutes contest being held by Mountain Dew and Doritos promises to give away a free Xbox One every two minutes. In the rules of the contest it has a vague date for when those free Xbox One's will become available. In section 12 of the rules of the contest, the Xbox One is labeled as having a "targeted launch date of late November 2013."

Earlier reports had the Xbox One coming in earlier than the PlayStation 4's launch date of November 15, specifically the date of November 8 was rumored but then denied by Microsoft. If the console does launch later in the month, they may try to get it into stores by the time Black Friday rolls around, as it is the biggest shopping day of the year and the company can take advantage of that fact. Microsoft is running out of time to announce when their next-gen console will be released, so hopefully they reveal when the console will launch soon.

Meanwhile, Microsoft and the Xbox One have a strong presence at PAX Prime this weekend, and senior director of product planning and management at Xbox Albert Penello discussed the price of the Xbox One, which at $500 is one hundred dollars more than the PlayStation 4 and will be $200 more expensive than the Wii U after its September price drop.  He told Gamespot that he believes that the Xbox One has more entertainment value than both those consoles, and the Xbox One overall is the better console than either of them:

"I think we do more. I think our games are better. I think as people start to experience Kinect and see what it can do using voice, I think that's better...I think the ability to have an all-in-one system where you can plug in the TV, that's better. I think we'll have a better online service...I just believe that we're going to have a better system."

While the Xbox One certainly has a lot of positives, it remains to be seen which console will be the best when the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 is released. Look out for more news on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 as the consoles join the Wii U and the next-gen contest begins in earnest.