Microsoft said Friday it will offer a low-priced version of its Xbox 360 video game console in Japan in November as it braces itself for a battle against new machines from Sony and Nintendo.
Microsoft plans to offer Xbox 360 Core System, which comes with a wired controller and does not include a hard disk drive, for 29,800 yen ($256) on Nov. 2, a little more than a week before Sony"s launch of its PlayStation 3 (PS3) console. Microsoft currently offers a version with a 20-gigabyte (GB) hard disk drive and a wireless controller in Japan for 39,795 yen ($342). The new version of Xbox 360 will be less than half the price of a model of PS3 that is equipped with a 20-GB hard drive and comes with a Blu-ray next-generation high-definition optical disc player. Sony plans to to put a price tag of 62,790 yen on it.