Software giant Microsoft Corp will launch its Xbox game machine in Japan on Friday, squaring off against Sony Corp's PlayStation 2 for dominance of the world's most competitive video game market. The key test is whether Xbox can repeat its strong U.S. debut and convince Japan's gamers and video game software makers that the stark black box with its green logo is here to stay. Microsoft sees Xbox carving a significant chunk out of the $20 billion global video game industry and has committed $500 million in marketing muscle to challenge the world's best-selling consoles -- Sony's PlayStation 2 and PlayStation.
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