In-Depth: Microsoft Xbox 360

Zero Hour, Day 2

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PALMDALE, CA -- If the overall mood for Day One of Zero Hour was one massive party, the tone for Day Two was anticipation. The last 12 hours had been filled with non-stop gaming, but today something else took precedence. Today, gamers were going home with their very own Xbox 360s.

Though the Zero Hour hanger was relatively quiet around 6:00 am, with the majority of people either at home or passed out in piles of bean bags, by 7:00 am the action had started up again. It was time to line up. Yes, even at Zero Hour, gamers had to wait. In order to ensure a smooth sales process, everyone was given an assigned time to show up at the on-site Zero Hour Best Buy store. Although you paid for everything up front, the store was only passing out games and accessories during the day. The systems would have to wait until nightfall.

Setting up a virtual store at the event took a great deal of coordination, but for Best Buy, the effort was worth it. According to Jill Hambuger, Best Buy's vice president of games, the company believes it has an advantage over other stores because it offers more than just video games.

"We've been really focusing on how we make gaming a bigger part of the environment. We can pull the whole solution together," said Hamburger. "We have a great retail team that has really risen to the occasion to support [Zero Hour]. There's a lot of behind-the-scenes planning, but this has come off beautifully."

Back on the show floor, the Media Center lounge seemed to be a popular stop thanks to the two masseuses offering free chair massages to all attendees. After a long night of gaming, it was a welcome respite. Inside the elevated lounge, Microsoft was demoing a Windows Media Center PC alongside the Xbox 360. Sitting on the plush couch, you could select from a custom music collection or watch a high definition version of Star Wars.

The majority of attendees at the event made their own way here, but a few won their trip thanks to the viral marketing contest Hex168.com. Melissa Johnson of Salt Lake City, Utah won a trip to Zero Hour -- along with an Xbox 360 to take home -- by submitting a video to the contest.

"[Kameo]'s my favorite game so far. It's really fun. I like the graphics, I like the voice acting," said Johnson. "I also played Quake 4. I really like that game because I like Halo. I suck at it, but it's fun."

Alexis Hebert, a member of Clan PMS who came from Lafayette Louisiana., found her favorite game in Call of Duty 2.

"After playing Call of Duty 2, I really, really liked it. And of course, Halo 2's graphics have improved. You can't beat Halo 2," said Herbet. "This event has been incredible. Not much sleep, but it's totally all worth it. Everybody's going all out and everybody's having a great time."

Unfortunately, Perfect Dark Zero didn't quite live up to her expectations as a hardcore FPS player.

"It was just too complicated. It took the simplicity out of it. It wasn't fast paced enough for me," said Hebert.

Palmdale native Stephanie Erdrich spent most of the day working at the on-site Best Buy store, so she had a unique perspective on the day's events.

"Being behind the counter was crazy. In the very beginning, it was really busy. It was a lot of fun, everyone was really friendly," said Stephanie Erdrich. "Now I'm off, so I'm playing games. [King Kong] is pretty cool. They actually look a lot like the real actors."

For those that needed a break from the digital action, a number of physical activities were setup outside the front door of the hanger. From American Gladiators-style platform battling to extreme tricycle racing, gamers had plenty of opportunities to stretch their legs and get away from the TV screen... if only for a few minutes.

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