Just got off the phone with Chris Di Cesare, the fella on the right. He's the Xbox 360 marketing director and has been involved with planning the launch events since the beginning. He told Kotaku a couple of interesting things about the shindig in the desert known as the Xbox 360: Zero Hour

More in extended entry.

Easy to get to: First and foremost, he wanted to make sure people understand that the event isn't too far out in the desert, so folks shouldn't be too intimidated about signing up for a ticket. He said it's an hour's drive east of Los Angeles. Still, I'll bet somebody will drive all the way out from Pennsyltucky for the event.

Burning Man meets E3: Still, why have the main launch event in the desert? "We wanted to do something that was true to the gaming culture, that celebrated gaming," he said. One way to think about it is Burning Man meets E3, he added. There will be bands including Louis XIV and DJs. But the main focus will be the Xbox. Bummer, so no nekkid people?

Big hanger: The venue will be a giant airplane hanger. While Microsoft is inviting 3,000 people, the structure will hold tenfold that number. I for one certainly hope that many people don't show up. But I'm glad it will be indoor since the desert out there does get torrential rains this time of year.

Secret location: Di Cesare still wouldn't spill the beans about the exact location. "We don't want to say the exact town so that a million people show up, but we want people to know it's not on the moon," he said. Five bucks says it will be at the Edwards Air Force Base. Any other guesses?

Sign up Thursday: Microsoft will give tickets to the first 3,000 people who apply at Xbox.com and ten other sites including GameSpot, 1Up and IGN. Set your alarm clock for midnight.

Zero Hour [official site]

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