Lines will probably begin to form Monday night outside local stores, but the parents, grandparents, kids and Gen-Xers won't be looking for Thanksgiving supplies.

Hype and controversy have surrounded the Xbox 360 well before its 12:01 a.m. Tuesday debut. The result has been growing interest in the next generation of home entertainment systems.

"We're going to Wal-Mart at around 7:30 p.m. on Monday and we're going to sit there until midnight, hopefully to get a premium package," said Eric Buechele, a 16-year-old Clinton Corners resident.

Strong interest in the video game system has led to high demand and shortages. Some local stores will only have systems for those who pre-ordered, while others will release the units they have on a first come, first served basis.

"First, they said I was guaranteed with the first shipment," said Jordan Eckes, an 18-year-old Hyde Park resident who pre-ordered at Game Stop. "Then, after the whole shortage, they told me I'm guaranteed on the second shipment. They said that could be anywhere from the week after launch to a week before Christmas."

Demand has been fueled by months of hype, which kicked off with an MTV special in the spring and the fact the Xbox 360 is the first in a wave of next generation gaming systems that do far more than simply play video games.

Like the original Xbox, the 360 will play games, CDs and DVDs. But, with the new system, users will be able to store photos from digital cameras, Windows PCs running Media Center, or any Microsoft Windows XP-based PC. They also will be able to store and download music from most portable music players.

One exception is the iPod. According to an article on CNET news.com, the 360 is unable to stream songs purchased from Apple's iTunes Music Store.

"I think they're staking their claim into the digital living room concept," Dennis McCauley, editor of GamePolitics.com, said of Microsoft. "It's a solid machine and they made it look really attractive. They really want it to be the center of entertainment."

At Tuesday's launch, the 360 is expected to have 18 video game titles including "Madden NFL 2006," "NBA Live 06," "NBA 2K6" and "Tony Hawk's American Wasteland." Most will cost about $60.

"It's more of an entertainment center than just a gaming system," Rotundo said. "You can stream content from your computer through the Xbox to watch on your TV, which is kind of cool."

Kristopher Kubicki is senior editor at AnandTech Inc., a popular Internet hardware review site. He and other staff members took apart the 360 prior to its release.

What they found was a powerful machine that will allow for faster, better looking games. The machine's processing power will allow it to play future games that will be more advanced visually and technically.

When the first Xbox was released nearly four years ago, the Sony Playstation 2 had already beaten it to the market by nearly a year. Continuing with the success it had with the original Playstation, Sony dominated the Xbox and the Nintendo Game Cube.

After fours years of planning, the Xbox has turned the tables. The Playstation 3 is reportedly being released in the spring and the Nintendo Revolution is also expected to be released some time next year.

The development of the 360 has not been without controversy. One point of contention had been whether or not users would be able to play original Xbox games on the new system.

Users will be able to play their old Xbox games, but they will need to get a free software patch for the old games. To use the patch, they will need a hard drive.

A 20-gigabyte detachable hard drive along with a wireless controller and headset is available with the $399 Xbox premium package. Microsoft also is offering a core system (no hard drive), which comes with a wired game controller, for $299.

"There weren't really a lot of compelling games when the first Xbox launched," McCauley said. "They've really built up their stable of exclusive content with games such as "Jade Empire" and (Star Wars) "Knights of the Old Republic." If there wasn't a "Halo," (the first Xbox) probably wouldn't have succeeded in the first place."

What could impede the Xbox 360's launch is reports of shortages. Microsoft's goal is to sell to 2.75 million to 3 million Xbox 360 units in the first 90 days of the system's launch date, news reports said.

Game Stop stores in Poughkeepsie and New Paltz said they were going to be open on midnight Monday for the launch of the 360. But they said they were sold out and were only catering to the first wave of pre-order customers.

Electronics Boutique, which has stores in the Poughkeepsie Galleria and Hudson Valley Mall in Kingston, also said that they were sold out through pre-orders.

Others stores, such as Toys 'R' Us, Best Buy and Target in the Town of Poughkeepsie and Wal-Mart in Fishkill, said they will sell the systems on a first come, first served basis.

A call to Circuit City led to a phone message saying the only pre-orders for the system they were taking were taking place Friday on the store's Web site.

Prices for system packages, some of which include an additional controller and games, ranged from $489.95 to $739.92. On Saturday, the Web site said all the packages Circuit City offered were sold out.

Shannon Gauzza of Beacon said she inquired about the system at Toys 'R' Us. Her 7-year-old son has the original Xbox and wants to get the 360.

"It's going to be frustrating for people," McCauley said. "The people who are going to get it first are the hard-core gamers. It may cost Microsoft some goodwill to be honest."

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