Microsoft to Launch Xbox 360 November 22

< I believe the base price in the U.S. will start at $349. >

Microsoft to Launch Xbox 360 November 22

Two versions of flashy console and a slew of multiuser games will roll
out this fall worldwide.

Martyn Williams, IDG News Service
Thursday, September 15, 2005

Xbox 360TOKYO -- Microsoft will launch its Xbox 360 games console on
November 22 in the U.S., the company announced here on Thursday.

The much-anticipated game console will then be released in Europe on
December 2 and in Japan on December 10, said Yoshihiro Maruyama,
executive officer and general manager of the Xbox division of
Microsoft's Japanese branch. The company called a news conference to
announce the product launch details and preview the company's
activities at the Tokyo Game Show, which begins on Friday.

Gamers got their first look at the Xbox 360 at the Electronic
Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles in May.

Pricing, Specs

The Xbox 360 will launch in two versions in the U.S. and European
markets: a basic version for $300 and a premium edition for $400. It
will be available in Japan in one version only, which will cost $343.

Powering the console is a custom three-core IBM Power PC chip and an
ATI Technologies graphics chip. It has a 12X dual-layer DVD-ROM drive
and the premium edition includes a 20GB hard drive, wireless
controller, headset, ethernet cable, and wireless remote control.

The Japanese version will be almost equivalent to the premium edition.
It will include the console and several accessories, including a 20GB
hard disk drive, wireless controller, and wireless remote control. A
limited-edition launch package will also include a headset, Maruyama
said.

"We have a very strong broadband infrastructure in Japan compared to
other countries," said Maruyama, in response to a question about why
the hard drive is a standard item in Japanese versions. "There are
various online contents on offer and these require a hard-disk."

Compared to the offerings for the U.S. and Europe, the Xbox 360
package launching in Japan appears to be something of a bargain. It's
unlikely that happened by chance. Of all the markets where it will
launch the Xbox 360, Microsoft probably faces its toughest marketing
battle in Japan.

Sales of the current version of the Xbox have dived in Japan, and the
company has struggled to find credibility for the console among
gamers. Microsoft has been working hard to turn that image around by
recruiting big-name game developers to write exclusive content, and is
already talking to retailers about launch plans.

Competitive Efforts

A few of the exclusive titles under development for Xbox include "N3
Ninety Nine Nights," by Tetsuya Mizuguchi of Q Entertainment and
"Every Party" by Yoshiki Okamoto of Game Republic. Developer Hironobu
Sakaguchi is also working on a game for the console.

"For Xbox, Japan really is a key, important market in the global
strategy that we have," said Maruyama. "We have a very strong
commitment to succeed."

For all the preparation, the console won't do well unless Japanese
gamers take an interest and a campaign designed to assure that kicks
off Friday. The public will get their first chance this weekend to see
and try out Xbox 360 games at the Tokyo Game Show. Microsoft plans to
have 27 games on display at the event.

Microsoft had previewed a few other Xbox 360 games earlier this
summer. Those included Bizarre Creations' "Project Gotham Racing 3,"
Namco's "Frame City Killer" and Capcom's "Dead Rising," as well as a
number of sports games, many of them with multiuser elements.

Nearer to the launch, an "Xbox lounge" will open in the fashionable
Aoyama district of Tokyo where people will be able to try out the new
console, Maruyama said.

http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,122560,tk,dn091505X,00.asp


===
"The pressure is outrageous. Everyone is picked apart and it's so superficial and not real. I'm not superskinny and not overweight. I'm just normal."
-- Hilary Duff
.

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