News Briefs

REDMOND, WASH. — Nintendo has cut the price on its GameCube video game console by $50 to a $99.99 suggested retail, matching the price of its handheld GameBoy Advance. Nintendo said the new price "opens an $80 price advantage over its two console competitors" and opens the console market to a new level of mass market customers. At the same time, the company announced a lineup of new software titles for the holiday selling season, expanding the GameCube library to over 320 titles by the end of the year. Among the expected hottest titles is Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, which will released as a GameCube exclusive on Nov. 17.

NEW YORK — Microsoft will unveil the latest edition of its multimedia-centric Windows operating system on Sept. 30. Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 will be launched through a series of events held in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Redmond, Wash., and New York. Microsoft has not let slip any details on what changes it made to the operating system, which enables a PC to handle a variety of multimedia tasks and turn a PC into a personal video recorder.

Long Beach, Calif.— Kenwood has delivered the first, but limited, production run of HD Radio tuners in the United States, paving the way for retail availability in January, said HD Radio developer iBiquity Digital. iBiquity has taken delivery of 1,000 Kenwood KTC-HR100 car tuners and expects in October to ship models to radio stations for internal listening and consumer-awareness promotions. The shipments will coincide with October availability of an upgraded HD Radio codec for installation by radio stations. iBiquity will take tuner pre-orders from broadcasters at the NAB Radio Show.

Norwalk, Conn.— Micro Warehouse, the privately held, direct-sale computer and accessories retailer, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and has sold its U.S. assets to CDW Computer Centers for about $22 million.