Microsoft Releases Xbox Details

At a press conference in advance of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2001, an annual games industry trade show, Microsoft (www.microsoft.com) at long last announced the pricing and release date for its much awaited Xbox.

On Nov. 8, 2001, Xbox consoles will be available for purchase at retail outlets throughout North America for an estimated retail price of $299 (although retail prices may vary).

Along with announcing strengthened relationships with console game studios Capcom and Sega Entertainment, Microsoft announced that more than 25 top game companies would be taking advantage of the capabilities of the Xbox video game system.

Sega Sports' entire 2K3 lineup (including "NFL 2K3'' and "NBA 2K3''), "Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3,'' "Unreal Championship'' and "Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon'' will be among the first online-enabled games available.

Sega also committed to design its Sega Sports 2K3 lineup for the Xbox broadband online game service, which is scheduled to launch in the first half of 2002.

In addition, Microsoft's own Xbox game studios has more than a dozen online-enabled games in development in the United States and Japan.

This announcement follows on Sony Computer Entertainment (www.sony.com) and America Online's (www.aol.com) decision to work together to deliver the AOL experience to consumers on the PlayStation 2 platform.