In addition, the console was capable of playing standard DVDs through a multimedia expansion pack. To this end, designers included an Ethernet port that allowed players access to Xbox LIVE (launched in November 2002), an online, real-time gaming community available for a monthly subscription fee. Microsoft envisioned their system as more than a home video game console they developed the Xbox as a revolutionary home-entertainment vehicle. Microsoft's other main rival for market share, Nintendo, launched their next-generation system, the much-anticipated GameCube, in November as well. Their first system, the Xbox, debuted on Novemamid a market dominated by Sony Computer Entertainment and the immensely successful Sony PlayStation 2. In the late 1990s, Microsoft made the decision to jump into the fiercely competitive-and potentially highly lucrative-video game console market.
