U.S. software giant Microsoft prepared on Wednesday for the third and final leg of the global launch of its games console Xbox, which will hit shops across Europe at midnight. The games machine, Microsoft's first foray into the $20 billion a year global video game industry, is already on sale in the United States and Japan where it was launched in previous months with a global marketing budget of $500 million. The device has been hit by manufacturing teething problems in Japan where it was introduced last month. Some of the machines make small scratches on gaming discs, which forced Microsoft to offer to replace consoles.
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