At Gamescom, Sony announced that the PS4 would be launching on November 15 in North America. At the same show, Microsoft refused to commit to an actual date for the launch despite delaying the console’s launch in a number of European territories. One might take Microsoft’s reluctance to name a launch date as a bad sign, but a recent leak shows that the Xbox One might be out of the gate first.

Kotaku reports that one of its sources has shared a launch schedule of all the big game related items hitting Walmart over the next few months. All the usuals are here, including Madden NFL 25 and Call of Duty: Ghosts. Even the PS4 is listed as having a confirmed midnight launch on November 15.

Interestingly enough, the schedule also lists the Xbox One with a launch date of November 8. If true, this would put the Xbox One’s launch one week ahead of the PS4’s. One week isn’t a long time, but it could be the deciding factor for consumers who are on the fence regarding the PS4 or Xbox One. There are gamers who would gladly spend an extra $100 just to get their next-gen gaming on a week early.

Of course, all of this is a rumor for now, and even the leaked schedule makes note of that by not confirming the November 8 launch for the Xbox One. Every other launch, including the PS4, has been confirmed and set in stone. This means that Microsoft has handed retailers a tentative launch date of November 8, but hasn’t confirmed it just yet.

Microsoft’s reluctance to confirm the launch date with retailers combined with its continued silence towards consumers is a little worrisome. We’re a little under three months away from the launch of both consoles and Microsoft still hasn’t announced a launch date beyond sometime in November. That’s a problem as it conveys a company not confident in its ability to deliver at launch. It doesn’t help when other rumors about Microsoft hitting manufacturing delays start popping up.

Xbox fans need not worry though. Microsoft will launch the Xbox One in November – it has to. In fact, it has to launch before the Thanksgiving so it can take advantage of Black Friday. The Xbox may not hit on November 8, but it will be out before November 28.

[Image: Xbox Wire]