Microsoft has launched Xbox One, its first new video game console in eight years.<br /><br /> In London, gaming fans waited for hours to get their hands on a product which the software giant hopes will revolutionise home entertainment.<br /><br /> Charlie Pulbrook was the first in line.<br /><br /> “I am absolutely shattered but it has been worth every minute,” he said. “I got up at four o’clock this morning to go down and make sure I was there so I have not stopped ever since and it is approaching 24 hours pretty soon that I have been up.”<br /><br /> Alison Brazendale was also one of the first ten in the queue but said she had little choice about making the effort.<br /><br /> “I have four children and I have a husband that is obsessed with gadgets so if I wasn’t here, then my life wouldn’t be worth living,” she said.<br /><br /> Amid the glitz of the Leicester Square launch, the Xbox One’s arrival in 13 countries comes just a week after Sony unveiled its new PlayStation 4 in the US. So is the lucrative Christmas market going to see a fight to the death? Apparently not.<br /><br /> “We wish Sony well for their launch,” said Chris Lewis, Regional Vice-President of Xbox Europe. “ I think the industry is all the better for strong competition. I think the consumers ultimately benefit as we continue to vie for those hard-earned dollars and euros and sterling. I think the quality bar goes up and up.”<br /><br /> More expensive than its big rival, the Xbox One has features Microsoft hopes will set it apart, like voice activation, home entertainment applications and a feature allowing players to control games by physical movement without using a controller.
