The first UK shots in this winter’s console war have been fired with the star-studded launch of the Xbox One – and a Sidcup man was at the front of the queue.

Charlie Pulbrook was the first person in the UK to pick up one of the new Microsoft consoles after the midnight release at the pop-up Game store at Trocadero in Leicester Square.

Mr Pulbrook, a 26-year-old freelance animator, said: “I’m shaking with excitement. I’m ecstatic. I didn’t realise I was going to be the first person.

“I guess you could say I’m a gaming addict.

“This is an investment, I’m going to have it for 10 years. I didn’t know if I could afford it but I’ve been saving up and being careful."

Microsoft has got a head-start on Sony by releasing its new entertainment and games machine a week before its big rival launches the PS4 in this country.

Martyn Gibbs, chief exec of retailer Game, said: "Last night was incredible. You could almost taste the excitement - gamers have been waiting for Xbox One for years.”

Game had a “massive turnout” at the midnight openings of more than 300 of its stores.

And thousands of gamers gathered in Leicester Square despite the freezing temperatures for the big launch.

The area was transformed into a fantasy world featuring characters from two of the Xbox’s exclusive titles, zombie horror Dead Rising 3 and Roman-themed adventure Ryse: Son of Rome.

There were music performances from Plan B and Katy B, with other celebrities also in attendance including Spurs and England footballer Andros Townsend.

Chat show host and gaming enthusiast Jonathan Ross was at the launch having also attended a Sony party at the OXO Tower last week to coincide with the switching on of giant PlayStation symbols on the side of the building.

He won’t have endeared himself to PlayStation’s PR people when he said last night: "It's an exciting time. I'm more excited about the Xbox One than I am about the PS4.

"I think they're trying to move the whole technology side of it forward."

Microsoft’s Phil Harrison said. "We're proud and excited that Xbox One is going to be the biggest launch in Xbox history.

“Xbox One is a complete, all-in-one system which has the best games, the best online service in Xbox Live, the best entertainment experiences and is built for the future. With the strongest line-up of games we've ever seen for a new console, pre-orders from fans across the UK are at unprecedented levels."

Xbox One allows users to play games, watch TV shows, movies and music, surf the web, and talk via Skype, while recognising the sound of the user's voice to instantly switch between entertainments.

The system, which costs £430, is the successor to 2005's Xbox 360 and the third device in the Xbox family after Microsoft entered the console market in 2001.

It has a 500GB hard drive, an eight-core processor and a beefed-up version of Microsoft's Kinect system, which allows a camera to track and interpret human body movements.

Microsoft caused a storm earlier this year when it announced controversial "always on" anti-piracy measures, a policy it later abandoned.

The tech giant claims the UK spends more than £1.77 billion on video games - more than on any other form of entertainment including cinema, DVD and music.

Have you bought an Xbox One yet or are you planning to buy one? What makes it a better choice than the PS4? Are you excited about the console battle this Christmas and do you think it will be good for gamers? Add your comments below.