Microsoft on Monday showed its latest weapon to control the lucrative gaming industry, the Xbox 360 video game console.

Corporate Chairman Bill Gates said this machine could enable the company to defeat its rival Sony.

The Xbox 360, after being developed for about one year, went onto shelf in electronics stores all over the United States Sunday night. In Los Angeles, thousands of hardcore gaming fans had been reportedly waiting in line for more than 20 hours for a midnight-selling.

Aiming to catch up the Thanksgiving holiday sale, Microsoft used Boeing 747 freight airplanes to rush the machines from its factories in China to the United States. The Xbox will go on sale in Europe and Japan in December.

After spending 12 billion dollars on game consoles, Microsoft hopes Xbox 360 to become "the hottest product," according to Bill Gates.

The powerful but expensive machine is the first of its generation to enter the gaming market that is worth 25 billion dollars.

Features of the white machine include high-definition graphics, online game play and Web chat, according to Microsoft. The new console can also play music, display photos, show DVDs, and connect to Windows computers.

"We see ourselves having a higher share," Gates said. "We're not going to name some magic number but we're out to give the best gaming experience and hope to get a really high market share out of that."

Gates is also betting Xbox will help Microsoft's plan to bring the company's software into consumers' living rooms and lessen its dependence on computer software, such as Windows and Office.

Microsoft, by now the No. 2 in video gaming business, holds no more than 18 percent of the market. Its biggest rival, Sony, has about 67 percent with the PlayStation consoles.

With Xbox 360, Microsoft may reach as much as 40 percent, according to market analyst DFC Intelligence based in San Diego, California. But other analysts said its price, 299 or 399 dollars based on different configurations, might be too much for some families to spend on a game system.

Source: Xinhua