Microsoft' delays Xbox's Japan launch

Microsoft is postponing the launch of its Xbox game console in Japan and Europe until February next year.

The Xbox will be sold in US and the rest of the world from November, priced at $299.

Hirohisa Ohura, managing director of Microsoft's Japanese subsidiary, says the company is focusing on US sales.

He admits it hurts that Xbox will be missing the Christmas shopping season in Japan but says the delay won't hurt sales in the long run.

"We want to succeed first in the United Sates and ride on that wave in Japan," he told reporters.

He said a price for Japan will be announced later but did not say when that would be.

Microsoft spokeswoman Shoreen Maghame denied any technical problems were behind the Japan delay, saying the decision was more about the "allocation of resources."

The amount of initial shipment in Japan was not yet decided, she said.

There has been some speculation that Xbox has run into technical problems.

Earlier this month, analysts at Thomas Weisel Partners reported the motherboard, the main computer part of the Xbox being designed by Intel, has a design flaw.

Microsoft denied the report and said it was on time to ship 600,000 to 800,000 machines for November in the United States.

The Xbox, Microsoft's first game machine, will be competing head-to-head against products from Japanese rivals with far more experience in game machines - Sony PlayStation 2 and GameCube from Nintendo.

PlayStation 2, which has a built-in DVD player, has already sold 15 million worldwide since going on sale last year, giving it a headstart in attracting outside game design companies that want to place their stake with a machine with the biggest market potential.