The battle of the video game consoles has a new participant, technology juggernaut and corporate behemoth Microsoft. With a marketing budget larger than most countries" Gross National Product (half a billion to be exact), Bill Gates and company hope to find a niche in the highly competitive industry.

In the past, American companies have had little or no luck in the hardware business. Remember the Atari Jaguar or the 3DO? Chances are you never played and probably never even heard of these domestic failures. The last successful American console was back in the early-"80s when Atari dominated with its famous 2600 machine. Lack of competition and over surplus of atrocious games lead to the crash of the video game industry in 1984. Then came along a little Japanese company called Nintendo. Times changed fast and videogames have been exclusively made in the Far East. The big question to Microsoft is how they will be able to buck the historical odds and make some cash out of their monstrous investment.

The Xbox will set you back $299, the same price as a PS2, but a Benjamin more than Nintendo"s GameCube. The machine itself is somewhat of a beast compared to other systems, both in size and technical specs. The black box is quite heavy and takes up as much room as that dusty VCR in your dorm room. Underneath the dark casing lies the most powerful hardware ever produced for a console.

Want some technical jargon? The Xbox runs at a brisk 733 MHz, almost three times that of the Playstation 2. Microsoft also dominates in the RAM category, boasting 64 MB versus the 32 MB and 43 MB of Sony and Nintendo respectively. In the polygon count Xbox is once again far ahead of the pack with its tremendous ability to produce 125 million raw polygons per second. Sound is perhaps the finest technical feature of the system as it is the first to offer gaming in Dolby Digital surround sound.

While there is plenty to boast about the Xbox, one thing surely to create some mixed emotions is the controller. Its design is similar to the Sega Dreamcast, with extra buttons on the front. The size is bulky to say the least, and quite cumbersome compared to the Playstation controller so many gamers have grown accustomed to.

If deciding on which system to buy the kids for Christmas was as easy as reading the specs on the side of the box, Microsoft would win hands down. The real attraction to a system lies in the number of great titles to choose from. Microsoft isn"t exactly a household name when it comes to games like software giant Nintendo, but the Seattle juggernaut has a few potential blockbusters up its sleeve.

The highlight of the launch library of more than 20 games is "Halo," brought to you by a little company known as Bungie software. If you were one of those people hopelessly addicted to "Goldeneye" for the last few years, its successor has finally arrived. The multi-player first person shooter features vast levels and countless options, not to mention gorgeous graphics that show off the capabilities of the machine. "It"s the reason I"m buying an Xbox," says Jon Van Oss, LS&ampA senior. "The game looks incredible and the early buzz has been great," continued the student. He"s right about that. Videogame publications are claiming it is the best title for either Xbox or GameCube, calling it the "must own game."

Shooting down people might not be for you, but chances are there"s something for everyone in the early Xbox library. Sports enthusiasts can choose from "Madden 2002," "NFL Fever 2002" or "NHL Hitz 2002." Fighting game buffs can immerse themselves in Tecmo"s latest effort, "Dead or Alive 3." Other notable releases include "Tony Hawk 2X," "Oddworld: Munch"s Oddysee" and "Shrek."

Developers have only just begun to scratch the surface in terms of utilizing the substantial power of the Xbox. Games in the coming months will continue to improve visually, and in about a year gamers should notice the substantial difference in processing ability compared to its competitors. Matt Brady, a Kinesiology junior, states, "I"m not too thrilled with it right now, but the potential is there to make some great games. The sports games really caught my attention." Microsoft is counting on people like Brady to invest in their hefty hardware. With an outlandish marketing budget and hefty production costs, Microsoft has a lot riding on the Xbox. Come the holiday season, the economy will indicate if there is room for three systems in the videogame market.