On the eve of this year's Tokyo Game Show, Microsoft will hold a press conference to at least partly pull back the veil of secrecy surrounding the company's Xbox 360 strategy in Japan.

While a release of the system has been promised for this holiday season, few details for the launch have been confirmed. It seems likely that Microsoft will take the opportunity to announce those details at the September 15 conference, which could give the company more press attention than making announcements during the event itself. Microsoft similarly jump-started E3 this year by unveiling the Xbox 360 on an MTV special three days before that show officially opened.

Tokyo Game Show 2005 takes place at the Makuhari Convention Center in Chiba prefecture September 16-18. The first day is open to industry professionals only, with the following two days open to the public.