European Xbox 360 launch line-up revealed

"Fifteen titles confirmed as December launch nears.

Microsoft has revealed a list of fifteen games that will be available for the Xbox 360 when it launches in Europe on December 2. As was widely expected, the line-up is headed by Project Gotham Racing 3 (contrary to recent reports) and Rare duo Perfect Dark Zero and Kameo: Elements of Power.

There are some notable absentees however, with Dead or Alive 4, Elder Scrolls: Oblivion and Ridge Racer 6 all missing from the launch list. Nevertheless, the confirmation of Call of Duty 2 and Amped 3 quickly unfurrowed our brows, while the rest of the line-up is a mix of sports titles (four from Electronic Arts), recognised franchises (Quake 4, which we recently reviewed on the PC) and licensed games.

There was a selection of thirteen different accessories confirmed for launch as well, including wired and wireless controllers, a rechargeable battery pack, a wireless networking adapter, a headset and the highly redundant Xbox 360 faceplates, should you feel the odd urge to decorate your console. We still think they're pointless, but heck, what do we know? More usefully, a 20GB hard drive will be made available (for those who buy the core system), as well as 64MB memory units.

The machine itself, as previously reported, will weigh in at £209.99 / €299.99 for the core system, while the hard drive-bundled console will be going for £279.99 / €399.99. No launch date has been announced for Australia yet, though January 2005 currently seems to be a popular choice among the rumour-mongers.

Anyway, scroll down for a list of the fifteen titles and various accessories that will be appearing at launch, and prepare to get saving.