Microsoft Corp., which is trying to get more sales from video games and consoles, said it will begin selling a service that will let gamers play each other via the Internet, beginning Nov. 15 in North America, nearly three months after Sony embarks on a similar venture.

A starter kit for the service, called Xbox Live, will reach stores on the one-year anniversary of the U.S. release of the Xbox game console and in time for holiday sales, said John O’Rourke, director of Xbox marketing. Some analysts said the date was cutting it close for the holiday shopping season. The kit costs $50 and includes a one-year subscription to use the service and a headset for communicating with other players.

Microsoft has sold 3.9 million Xboxes, below projections, and the company hopes the online service will spur more purchases. Sony Corp., which has sold almost eight times as many of its PlayStation 2 consoles, began offering an online service in the United States Aug. 27.

“It would have been better if they could have gotten it out in October,” said Matt Rosoff, an analyst at research company Directions on Microsoft. “It’s a little late for the holidays.” Microsoft originally planned to have the service available before the end of June.

O’Rourke said he expects the service to gain “tens of thousands of customers, not millions” during this holiday season. He also said the company will probably have to make some changes to the service, which hasn’t been publicly tested yet, in response to customer feedback.

Redmond-based Microsoft held a public test of Xbox Live in September with about 10,000 gamers participating. To use the service, a customer has to have both an Xbox console and fast Internet access. About 15.4 million U.S. households have such high-speed Web connections.

Six games will be available when the service goes on sale and another 10 or so by the end of the year. Initial games include football title from both Microsoft and Sega Corp., Sega’s basketball game and an action game inspired by the spy novels of Tom Clancy.