Gates unveils 'the future of video gaming'

Bill Gates has unveiled Microsoft's Xbox games console, the high-performance gaming machine that threatens the dominance of Sony and Nintendo.

During a keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the Microsoft chairman, with the help of WWF wrestler The Rock, showed off the Xbox console and game controller which Gates described as "the future of video gaming".

The audience was then treated to a demonstration of two exclusive Xbox 3D platform games, Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee and the Argonaut-designed Malice.

Gates said: "We set out to build something that was a breakthrough for gamers. This thing is a broadband gaming device."

The console, pictured above, is black with a large 'X' and a signature green logo in its centre. It includes four controller ports, a front-loading DVD tray, a multi-signal audio-video connector, an ethernet port, an Nvidia graphics processing unit (GPU), an Intel 733Mhz processor and the innovation of an 8Gb hard drive.

The controller features an eight-way directional pad (D-pad), left and right analogue sticks, left and right shoulder triggers, six multicoloured analogue buttons, dual slots for memory cards and other peripherals, and a built-in 'rumble' feature to increase gaming realism. The controller lead is a shade under three metres long.

Microsoft is expected to announce the console's exact launch price and date at the E3 show in Los Angeles in May.

It is due in the US and Japan this autumn but won't hit Europe until 2002 - giving Sony's PlayStation 2 a two Christmas headstart in Europe, the world's largest single market for video games. Microsoft has said it has imposed a staggered launch to ensure it can meet initial demand, something Sony has failed to do with PlayStation 2.

According to Microsoft, globally there are more than 200 games companies working on Xbox projects. A high volume of games was one of the reasons attributed to the success of the Sony PlayStation in its battle to establish itself against Nintendo and Sega in 1995.

Software is also key to profit, with hardware usually sold at a loss to gain market share and establish a large installed base to increase the returns made on software sales.

Analysts have described the Xbox as Microsoft's way of entering the living room, where it could function as an interactive TV controller and internet device.

It is certainly a departure for the firm that made its name with operating systems and office software. To date, Microsoft has put 1000 staff on the project and allocated $500m for marketing.

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