Consumers will be able to buy Microsoft's Xbox games console from midnight on March 13th for €499 at selected video games stores in the Republic.
The Xbox will compete head-to-head against the Playstation 2 (PS2) and is likely to ignite a fierce battle for supremacy of the gaming market worth about $20 billion (€23 billion) annually.
Already introduced in the US and Japan, the Xbox's European dispatch is set for March 14th and is likely to create a lot of hype among committed "gamers". The console will be sold at a number of shops including Electronics Boutique, Dixons, Compustore, Virgin and HMV. Demonstration consoles will be available at some of these shops in March.
Mr Richard Teversham, the UK head of Xbox marketing, said this week the Republic would be an important market because it had the highest penetration of games consoles outside Japan.
He disagreed with suggestions that the console may not prove popular here because of the high penetration of Sony PS2 consoles.
"The Xbox will be aimed at people who already have a PS2, the hardcore, committed gamers initially; by next Christmas, we will broaden the appeal," he said.
But the high retail price of the Xbox in Europe - more than €100 more expensive than the console's price in the US - is already causing some concern among gamers. An online petition complaining about the high cost in Europe was recently presented to Microsoft. Nearly 3,800 names were collected.
Microsoft is charging US customers just $299, excluding VAT, a price significantly below the €479 to €499 charge in Europe. The Xbox's Japanese price is also considerably below the European price.
Likewise, the cost of the software for the console will probably be expensive. A typical game will cost consumers up to €69, compared with about €50 for PS2 games.
Mr Teversham said the reason the console would be sold at a higher price in Europe than the US was due to the costs of doing business in Europe.
The Xbox console includes an extremely powerful chip that enables advanced graphics for games, a DVD player and a broadband connection to enable interactive gaming.
