Microsoft takes Xbox 360 to Cushing

At 2:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Cushing High School auditorium, software giant Microsoft will celebrate the pre-launch of its next video game titan, the Xbox 360. The system, considered a vital component to Microsoft's future success, will be released globally on Nov. 22. The company chose Cushing as a launch site because of the city's DCA Inc., Microsoft's lead company dealing with anti-piracy for Xbox game discs.

Doug Carson founded DCA in the early 1980s. Carson, who saw potential for a technology discarded by a former employer, started DCA with a little equipment and a big idea. He envisioned a big future for the optical disc industry, which most recognize as CDs and DVDs. The Cushing company today also has offices in Germany and Japan.

Though DCA is a pioneer in the optical disc industry and among the world's principal innovators, in recent years, anti-piracy has captured much of the company's attention. Anti-piracy of optical discs includes the equipment, formats and software necessary to prohibit duplication of the discs.

DCA contracted with Microsoft during the development of the first-generation Xbox. They were commissioned to assure that Xbox game discs could not be duplicated. To date, not a single Xbox game disc has been illegally reproduced.