SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) unveiled the Xbox 360 on Thursday, taking aim at Sony Corp. (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) in the video game console market with a machine sporting high-definition graphics and features that make it an entertainment hub for the living room.
The world’s largest software maker said its second generation Xbox will be on store shelves well in time for the 2005 holiday season that begins in late November, but it did not say how much the white-and-silver concave console would cost.
Among the other features are a detachable 20-gigabyte hard drive, a remote control for accessing music and video functions on the Xbox 360 and the ability to customize the machine’s front panel with detachable face-plates.
Microsoft’s Xbox business is arguably the Redmond, Washington company’s biggest bet, costing the software giant more than $1 billion in sunk costs every year since 2001. Microsoft, with deep pockets and a reputation for persistently chipping away at competitors, has Sony squarely in its sights at a time when the Japanese consumer electronics maker is struggling with a top-level management overhaul and weak profitability.