With an all-singing extravaganza fronted by Lord of the Rings star Elijah Wood, Microsoft plans to steal a march on rival Sony by unveiling its next-generation games console tomorrow.
The public's first look at the new-look Xbox machine, on the MTV music network, will come at least six months before the console actually goes on sale.
But in the all-important war of hype, Microsoft will become first on the block with Sony not due to present its new PlayStation3 until next week, before releasing it to the public sometime next year.
That jump-start could be important for Bill Gates' software titan, which was a whole year behind the PlayStation2 when it launched the first-generation Xbox in 2001. It has struggled ever since to catch up.
Analysts say that Microsoft has learned the hard way that for the console to succeed, games developers must be brought on board early on. The first Xbox, while on a technical par with the powerful PlayStation2, suffered from a relative paucity of titles.
Although it managed to overtake Nintendo's GameCube to grab second place in the global console race, the Xbox remained streets behind the PlayStation2's sales and has never become a money-spinner for Microsoft.
"Microsoft were well behind Sony with their first console. This time it looks like they'll be ahead," said Ho Yue-shun, an industry analyst at Wells Fargo Securities in Portland, Oregon.
"So in that respect they have a head start and probably could do better this time round. But then again we haven't heard yet from Sony. A lot depends on what kinds of things Sony will come up with for its loyal fans," he said.
Microsoft certainly does not intend to let Sony get ahead in the publicity stakes, promising 30 minutes of "high-energy" programming on the world's most popular music channel. The broadcast, to be presented by Wood, aka Frodo Baggins, and featuring music from Las Vegas rockers The Killers, will be aired tomorrow evening in the US (New York time) and on Friday in Europe and Asia.
Gates himself will be on hand to tout the abilities of his company's new games machine, which according to industry insiders is called the Xbox 360.
Leaked images on the popular Web site www.gamespot.com reveal a sleek console in an attractive silver shade that promises to be better looking than its chunky black-and-green predecessor.
Sony, it is rumored, will only be showing off its own next-generation machine on Monday at an industry presentation at its film studios in Culver City, California. That will come a day before the world's biggest computer games fair, the E3 Electronic Entertainment Expo, opens in nearby Los Angeles.
Neither machine will be on sale for some time yet and the details of their public launches have been kept tightly under wraps. But both will incorporate high-speed Internet connections, along with multimedia capability for music and video, to respond to gaming fans' desire to play online.
Microsoft also does not intend to let Sony forge so far ahead again in the market for games titles, where most of the money in this lucrative sector is made.
"Microsoft have been working with big third-party developers like Electronic Arts and Activision for at least a year ... they're better prepared," Ho said.
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