AFTER YEARS OF EXPECTATION, Microsoft today introduces the XBox, a dedicated gaming console that sells for $299 and faces a tough fight from Sony and from Nintendo.
Nintendo is ready to launch its answer to the XBox next Monday, and the Microsoft number won't appear in Britain - at £299 - until next spring, and in Japan until next year too. We don't think that the Japanese box will cost ¥299.
The machine includes a redundant 733MHz Pentium III chip, Nvidia graphics and a meagre 64MB of memory, along with an 8GB hard drive and the ability to play DVDs and connect to the Internet.
The US price tag would cost around $600 if such stuff was included in a full blown PC. The XBox cannot be used as a PC.
The games supported by the XBox, as well as the price are likely to be the determining factor in whether the machine can compete against Sony and Nintendo.
The number of sales expected have been downward revised since it was first announced.
Sony is not expected to lie back and allow Microsoft to steal its cash cow - and the Seattle firm will have to be prepared to lose money at first -- an experience it's unused to.
News source: The Inquirer
Thanks to AccessXP for the streaming videos of the XBox launch event in New York:
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