Xbox One production begins, first consoles shipped

According to Tweets from Microsoft’s Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb, Director of Programming for the Microsoft gaming network Xbox Live, the first shipments of the Xbox One were assembled, boxed and put into shipping packaging, and are on their way to stores in the thirteen launch countries.

Tweeting from the factory floor at an undisclosed location at 9:40AM in the morning, Major Nelson showed a few pictures of the inside of the warehouse where the consoles are being packaged. The boxes are nondescript and carry a warning label that the consoles may not be put on shelves or sold before the official launch date of 22 November 2013.

The first three Xbox One consoles being shipped.

The second picture shows the boxes on full pallets loaded into a delivery truck. Because the pictures are scaled down and compressed from their original resolution, its impossible to determine where the consoles are going. With the official launch only 81 days away, there is concern that Microsoft won’t be able to fulfill all pre-orders or have enough stock for retail stores.

Xbox One consoles being shipped via truck.

How many consoles are in that box? That’s the $499 question. Microsoft is running all-out to meet their pre-order quotas and is doing a simultaneous launch in all thirteen countries at the same time. Time will tell if they succeed with the initial rollout and if they can open up more assembly lines to meet demand.