NEWS - Thursday, February 21, 2002
Uncle Bill To Chat On Xbox Thursday
TOKYO, Feb 21 - Microsoft Corp (NasdaqNM:MSFT - news) Chairman Bill Gates will speak to the media in Tokyo on Thursday to kick off the launch the next dayof its new Xbox game machine in Japan, the most competitive and crucial market for the U.S. software giant.Microsoft said Gates will be speaking at 9 p.m. (1200 GMT) in Tokyo, joined by Hirohisa Ohura, a director at Microsoft Japan in charge of Xbox operations.
The key test on Friday is whether the black, rectangular Xbox can stage a repeat of its better-than-expected U.S. debut and convince Japan's gamers and video game software makers that it is here to stay.
Microsoft sees Xbox carving a significant chunk out of the $20 billion global video game industry and has committed $500 million in marketing muscle to challenge the world's best-selling consoles -- Sony Corp's PlayStation 2 and PlayStation.
Source: http://www.yahoo.com/
