In a bid to gain market share, Microsoft is expected to announce today that it will offer gamers a nice bonus by bundling two Sega games with its Xbox video-game console for the same retail price of $199.

As of Tuesday, new Xbox systems will be bundled with Sega's ``Jet Set Radio Future'' and ``Sega GT 2002'' games, which cost $50 each if bought separately. Microsoft will also include the smaller game controller that it created for the Japanese market; to date, that controller was available as a separate accessory in the United States.

``The motivator here is to ensure that we have a strong holiday season,'' said John O'Rourke, director of Xbox marketing. ``We have to find a way to break through the clutter this season. When you get to the holidays, you need promotional might.''

The Xbox needs extra might. The console got off to a strong start in the U.S. market when Microsoft launched it in November, but the console sold poorly upon its debuts in Japan and Europe.

The company cut the original price by $100 to $199 in the spring, but Sony continues to dominate the market with the PlayStation 2. In the United States, PS 2 has more than half the market, with the Xbox second and Nintendo's GameCube third.

Analysts worry that the slow economy may force the console makers to take extra promotional steps to get gamers into the holiday mood.

Sony officials said they have no plans to offer bundles this season. Nintendo hasn't discussed promotions but did recently reveal that it plans to spend 25 percent more on advertising this season than last year to boost GameCube sales. Microsoft and Sony have not revealed details about how much they plan to spend on advertising this holiday season.

It isn't clear how excited gamers will get about the Sega games. ``Jet Set Radio Future'' came out in May, and it wasn't a blockbuster. ``Sega GT 2002'' came out in August.