TOKYO--Microsoft announced today that it will release Xbox Video Chat in Japan on November 25. The peripheral, which works with Xbox Live, allows up to five users to simultaneously communicate with each other on the TV screen. The Xbox Video Chat kit will retail at 6,800 yen (approx. $62). It will include a small video camera called the Xbox Cam, an Xbox voice communicator, the Xbox Video Chat Disc, and an Xbox Live starter kit with 12 free months of basic subscription to the service.

　　Xbox users in Japan who already subscribe to Xbox Live will not be left out in the cold--they will be offered a special package that includes the camera and software for only 1,800 yen ($16). The special package, available starting November 12, is limited to a production of 3,000 units.

　　The Xbox Video Chat will be launching in Japan first because the project was developed by the Japanese Xbox team. Also, broadband infrastructure in Japan is at a higher level than in other countries, and Japanese consumers tend to require and use new communication devices on a more frequent basis than their Western counterparts.