Xbox 360 Leads Console Wars

Sony Corp., the maker of Playstation game consoles, may lose its iron grip on the market for game machines as rival Microsoft Corp. launches a new model just in time for the holiday season. Microsoft’s new Xbox 360 will debut in the United States on Tuesday and in Europe and Japan in December, while Sony is not expected to launch its upgraded Playstation, PS3, until next spring.

Analysts and game fans say PS3 is the sexier game machine with twice the processing speed of Xbox 360, next-generation DVD technology Blu-ray, and seven control pads that can connect wirelessly to the console. But Xbox 360 will have the advantage of being in time for the holidays with an initial line-up of 18 games including surefire hits like "Need for Speed Most Wanted," "Ridge Racer 6" and "Madden NFL 06."

Reuters - Sony May Lose Grip in Next Game Consoles War

The Xbox 360 represents a big gamble for Microsoft. It has spent billions of dollars on building up a presence in the games market with its original Xbox. That console came out in 2001, a year after Sony’s PlayStation 2 (PS2), and Microsoft has struggled to catch up ever since.

The software giant has sold more than 20 million of the original Xboxes compared to 90 million PS2s worldwide. By making sure its new Xbox 360 is out months ahead of Sony’s PlayStation 3, the software giant is hoping to win over the wallets and thumbs of gamers.

BBC - Xbox 360 to kick off console wars

After months of hype, the souped-up video game console becomes available on Tuesday at midnight, well ahead of Nintendo’s Revolution and Sony’s PlayStation 3. Those rival systems are due in 2006.

But after playing with Xbox for a few days, I’m ready to make a video game comeback. Xbox 360 is an immersive system whose dazzling cinematic graphics and Dolby Digital surround sound are especially addictive when connected to a high-definition TV.

USAToday - Xbox 360 revives addictiveness of video games