The Xbox, which goes on sale in North America on Nov. 15, is Microsoft's first console and its most ambitious effort yet to conquer the living room. Deep in the wine cellar of the Hotel de Paris in Monte Carlo one evening last month, two dozen of Europe's top video game publishers, along with some American rivals, gathered to toast the Xbox, the newest machine that will run their games. Surrounded by Napoleonic vintages, they dined at the invitation of the game's creator, the Microsoft Corporation, which stands little chance of succeeding in the $20 billion market without their games to propel sales. One American, Sherry McKenna, who had migrated from the film business to Oddworld Inhabitants, a small development studio in California, typified what they had at stake. Oddworld had scrapped plans to make its next game for Sony's PlayStation2 in favor of the Xbox, tying its future to Microsoft's success in video games. She has doubts, though, about Microsoft's marketing approach.
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