First Xbox hurdle: survive the shark tank (+video)

Xbox One console.

One lucky Kiwi gamer will be the first in the world to get his or her hands on the new Xbox One console when it launches next week, but until then the next-generation device will be placed under tight security - in a shark tank at Kelly Tarlton's.

Twenty sharks will spend the week looking after the console, to be sealed in a waterproof case today.

Xbox New Zealand public relations lead Steven Blackburn said the sharks were the best "body guards".

Mr Blackburn said Xbox was launching its first console in eight years in New Zealand because of its "passionate gaming community".

Xbox NZ had yet to decide how to choose which lucky gamer would receive the first console, Mr Blackburn said. The immediate priority was to make sure it survived the shark tank week in one piece.

The Xbox One, which goes on sale next Thursday at midnight, will cost $749.