* RUMOR: The Xbox 360 is launching on November 4....and may come in black!
* Source: The 24/7 Xbox enthusiasts at Xbox365.com and the dyslexic-but-savvy bloggers at Joystick
* The official story: "Microsoft does not comment on rumors or speculation."--Microsoft spokesperson.
* What we heard: For a very small story, the Xbox365.com caused a whole lotta hoo-hah this week. A blurb on the site home page said the following: "According to a slip-up on the Microsoft Partner site, Microsoft (by mistake) has announced (and quickly removed the infomation [sic]) the launch date of Xbox 360 as November 4 - 2005."

That's it. Heaven for-effin'-fend that the article mention which "partner site" leaked the information and how said partner is related to Microsoft. Still, it was enough to start an avalanche of forum posts and e-mails, the majority of which were prefaced with "OMG" and ended in "!!!!" But with the powers-that-be in Redmond, WA staying mum, our best guess is this is a case of old-news-resurrected-as-new-rumor, since a Microsoft partner did reveal the Xbox was launching in November...in May. So much for being au courant. A much less irritating rumor was started by Joystiq, which showed off a downright sexy image of a matte black Xbox 360 that would match the rest of many gamers' expensive A/V set-ups.

Since the PlayStation 3 will come in three colors, a black 360 would make sense...if it weren't for Microsoft's aggressive fetishizing of its next-gen console's iPod-esque whiteness. Also, the Xbox 360 logo in the lower left-hand corner of the image in an early version leaked long before the console's name was made public. So if the image is an official mock-up, it is a very old one.
* Bogus or not bogus?: $20 says the Xbox launches in November around the fourth anniversary of the first Xbox hitting the market. However, odds are Goth gamers will have to do their own case-modding or just settle for a Skinny Puppy faceplate. Source: www.gamestop.com