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Hot on the heels of Microsoft's Xbox console, which was launched last Thursday, Nintendo released its new Gamecube console on Sunday in the U.S.. All eyes in the computer gaming world are now trained on the U.S. market and what is expected to be a fierce battle for holiday sales.

The latest Nintendo console made its worldwide debut in Japan on September 14 but the U.S. is the first place that it and the Xbox will go head-to-head against each other and Sony Computer Entertainment's PlayStation 2. Microsoft won't be releasing the Xbox in Japan until February 22 next year.

Nintendo has plans to ship around 1.1 million consoles to the U.S. between now and December 23--compared to the 1.5 million Xbox consoles that Microsoft says it will ship before the end of the year. Nintendo already has a price advantage over the competition. Its console is selling for $200, which is significantly less than the Xbox and PlayStation 2, which both have $299 retail prices.

Similar Software

Much of the battle between the three companies is expected to be in the area of software, where prices are broadly similar with Nintendo selling its starting line-up for $50 per title. The company is emphasizing its stable of popular software titles, specifically titles produced by well-known game developer Shigeru Miyamoto, responsible for creating characters such as Mario and Donkey Kong.

For its part, Microsoft announced at the recent Tokyo Game Show that it has signed on two of Sega's best known games developers: Yu Suzuki, who heads the Sega-AM2 team, and Yuji Naka, in charge of the Sonic team.

Despite the focus on software, the Gamecube launch has brought some disappointment to potential users. The Gamecube is the first new Nintendo console for some time that has not had a game featuring the company's popular Mario character ready at launch. Players have to make do with Luigi's Mansion, a game featuring Mario's brother, and wait until the middle of 2002 when a new Mario title is expected to go on sale.

Hardware-wise, the Gamecube system is based on an Power-PC based Gekko processor from IBM, a graphics chip custom-design by ATI Technologies and 40MB of main memory. Game software is supplied on proprietary 8-centimeter optical discs with a 1.5GB capacity designed by Japan's Matsushita Electric Industrial, which is also about to put on sale in Japan an add-on kit that allows users to watch DVDs.

The Gamecube measures 5.9 by 4.3 by 6.3 inches and is available in indigo and black.

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