Microsoft Corp on Wednesday said its new Xbox 360 would sell for as much as $399 in the United States, the most expensive mainstream video game console launch yet.
The move raises the financial stakes in Microsoft's war with Sony Corp, which plans next year to launch its own new console, the PlayStation 3.
The two companies already dominate the $25 billion video game hardware and software market and are expected to try to make their consoles hubs of digital home entertainment.
The $399 Xbox 360 bundle includes a wireless controller, a headset and a detachable hard drive that lets the console play games made for the original Xbox and play particularly sophisticated games, such as some role-playing titles.
Microsoft also will offer a $299 Xbox 360 "Core System," which includes a wired controller, but analysts expect early buyers to choose the pricier model.
A November launch is widely expected for the software giant's new console. That would give it a head start against Sony's PlayStation 3 and smaller rival Nintendo Co. Ltd's next-generation Revolution console -- both due in 2006.
Current versions of the Xbox and PlayStation play music and movies. New versions will have more advanced graphics and high-speed Internet connections -- improving features such as online game play and chat.
{{/usCountry}}Current versions of the Xbox and PlayStation play music and movies. New versions will have more advanced graphics and high-speed Internet connections -- improving features such as online game play and chat.
{{/usCountry}}Price has not historically been a hurdle for hard-core gamers, who are expected to be the first buyers of the Xbox 360 and will want to use the console to play games they already own.
"By definition early adopters aren't price conscious," said Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter.
The new console will launch simultaneously in the US, Japan and Europe ahead of the holiday season, Microsoft said.
The Xbox 360 Core System will sell for 299 euros ($367) in Europe and 209 pounds ($378) in Britain. The higher-priced version would be 399 euros and 279 pounds, European home and entertainment head Chris Lewis told journalists at Europe's biggest computer games fair in Leipzig, Germany.
The company said it would unveil pricing for the Japanese market at the Tokyo Game Show next month.