Microsoft unveiled its new Xbox 360 today as it takes aim at Sony in the video game console market.
The world's largest software maker said its second-generation Xbox will be on US 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 features are three IBM microprocessors that are expected to deliver powerful computing and advanced graphics, as well as a detachable 20-gigabyte hard drive and the ability to customise the machine's front panel with detachable face-plates.
Microsoft's Xbox business is arguably the company's biggest gamble, 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.
The smaller Xbox 360 is a departure from the original squarish black Xbox that debuted in late 2001, and is aimed at a wider audience, said J. Allard, Microsoft's vice president leading the charge behind Microsoft's push into the business.
Mr Allard said Microsoft learned from its mistakes with the first Xbox, which launched a year behind its main rival, Sony's PlayStation 2 console.
He acknowledged: "We didn't get the controller right, we didn't get the industrial design right," referring to the original oversized Xbox controller and hardware that scratched DVD disks, generating customer complaints.