First Xbox One retail box image tweeted by Major Nelson

Is this the happiest day ever for Xbox One fans? Microsoft’s Major Nelson tweeted out an image of the first Xbox One off the assembly line.

This little beauty is going to make its way to the Tokyo Game Show (TGS), where Microsoft will most likely unbox it to a screaming crowd. It’s good to see the Xbox One (Xbone?) in it’s new packaging, which looks very similar to the old Xbox Arcade box. It’s that overwhelming green. The Xbox One was already unboxed last month by the Major, so there’s little in the way of surprises now. Except for that US$499 (possibly R7299 in South Africa) price.

Phil Spencer, VP of Microsoft Game Studios, will bring the first retail Xbox One into TGS, along with eight playable games. Microsoft’s going to face an uphill battle, both with the wallets and hearts of gamers. A report from Edge said that Sony’s PlayStation 4 is “50% faster” than the Xbox One’s hardware. This is based on first-hand reports from “multiple high-level game development sources” who say that the differences in hardware are “significant”.

Microsoft also had to deal with the name “Xbone”, a derogatory term for the Xbox One. Earlier last week, Microsoft brought the Xbone.com domain, effectively saving itself from further insult, said WinBeta. This was down to, again, Major Nelson who said on the NeoGAF forums that “I don’t like it…it disrespects the teams that have put in thousands of hours (already) into the development of the product. Sure, it’s cheeky but I don’t care for it myself.” The Xbone.com URL goes nowhere, and we doubt that Microsoft will use it. It’s just there now to save face for the Big M. Will you be getting a box just like that on 22 November? Or has Sony already stolen your heart, and your pre-order?