Introduction Are you curious as to what exactly the Xbox is? Don't know a thing and everything looks confusing? We have put together this description to help you get acquainted with Microsoft's Xbox. The Xbox The Xbox is an upcoming "future generation" device from Microsoft. Functioning in much the same way as the Playstation and Dreamcast, the Xbox is a video game console that allows gamers to play games on their television sets. With a processor powered by Intel and a graphics processing unit (GPU) powered by Nvidia the Xbox has all the power it needs to compete with the big boys. In addition, the Xbox is to feature an 8 gigabyte hard drive, 64 MB of RAM, 4x DVD player, broadband compatibility (DSL, Cable, etc), and HDTV support. Utilizing DirectX 8.0 technology from Microsoft, the Xbox will have a lot in common with the current technology being used by PC game developers. Allowing for PC games to be more easily developed for the Xbox. However, Microsoft is not looking to simply attract ports of already existing PC games but rather attract key developers currently not developing for console systems. The Xbox is slated for a release in Fall 2001. This will be approximately one year after the release of Sony's Playstation 2 and right around the time of the of Nintendo's next system, currently code-named Dolphin. The Xbox will contain numerous "extras" not featured in other next-generation consoles such as a hard drive. Despite these extras, Microsoft still plans on keeping the Xbox competitively priced with other consoles. Pricing Xbox will be available at an estimated retail price of $299 USD. Release Date Starting Nov. 8, 2001, Xbox consoles will be available for purchase at retail outlets throughout North America. Quantities 600,000 - 800,000 units will be available on day one.