They did it with Wii and 3DS (within 1 month is what I would consider a global launch). Wii had problems because no one, Nintendo included, expected the demand to be as high as it was. 3DS was the opposite where demand was lower than they expected. I think console manufacturers can't afford to NOT try and do a global launch anymore. No more 9+ months between releases like SNES or even just 3 months like N64.