Microsoft slashes Xbox 360 price in Japan
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Microsoft is slashing Xbox 360 prices in Japan by about 13 percent as the price war among video game consoles heats up around the world ahead of the key year-end shopping season.
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Microsoft said Monday it would cut the prices of its Xbox 360 consoles in Japan as it ramps up competition with rivals Sony and Nintendo ahead of the key year-end shopping season.
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Microsoft Corp. will start selling a cheaper model of the Xbox 360 video game machine in Japan to woo gamers there, the U.S. software maker said Monday.
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Microsoft shrugged off HD DVD&#39;s demise on Tuesday, declining to say if or when it would support Blu-ray Disc for the Xbox.Microsoft steadfastly backed HD DVD, selling an external drive for the Xbox for $129.99. That offer was still on the U.S. Xbox Web site as of Tuesday, despite the news that&#160;Toshiba will scuttle the format. Toshiba had been the lead electronics manufacturer in a coalition of companies pushing that format but content producers have thrown their support to Blu-ray.Microsoft&#39;s decision to make the HD DVD drive external rather than within the console &quot;was quite a strategic move on their part,&quot; said Paul O&#39;Donovan, principal analyst with Gartner.However, it&#39;s inevitable that future Xbox versions, as well as other gaming systems aimed at tighter integration with entertainment systems, will incorporate Blu-ray Disc drives, said O&#39;Donovan. The Xbox currently has a standard DVD drive.Sony gained momentum for its Blu-ray player by putting it in its PlayStation 3 console, according to research company IDC.The PS3&#39;s &quot;dual roles as a gaming console and a next-generation DVD player have made it an important part of the format war,&quot; according to the report.Prior to Toshiba&#39;s announcement, Microsoft downplayed the rumors of HD DVD&#39;s death, contending buyers are more interested in gaming functions.&quot;We do not believe the recent reports about HD DVD will have any material impact on the Xbox 360 platform or our position in the marketplace,&quot; the company said in a statement. &quot;It is premature to speculate but we do know from market data that HD movie playback is not a primary purchase driver for consumers buying video game consoles.&quot;Microsoft, which started selling the external drive for $199 in late 2006, has dropped the price twice, to $179 last August finally to its current price, which varies by region.O&#39;Donovan agreed the company likely won&#39;t face declining sales of its Xbox gaming console. But Microsoft&#39;s greater problem may be getting rid of the external HD DVD drives in its inventory.HD DVD is &quot;dead and gone&quot; now, O&#39;Donovan said.&#160;
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CHIBA, Japan  - Sony Corp. 6758.T said on   Tuesday it would launch its Blu-ray high-definition optical   disc recorder in Japan in December with an expected price tag   of around 300,000 yen ($2,550) for a model with a 500-gigabyte   hard disk drive.
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NEW YORK -- Sony Corp. on Thursday cut the price of its PlayStation 3 game console in the U.S. and announced an even cheaper model that will arrive before the holiday shopping season.
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TOKYO -- Sony Corp. said Friday it will slash the price of its much-anticipated PlayStation 3 video game console in Japan by 20 percent, heating up the competition in the next-generation gaming war against rivals Microsoft and Nintendo.
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Nintendo Co. Ltd. said on Thursday  it will start selling its new game console, the Wii, on  December 2 in Japan for 25,000 yen ($212), making it the third  and last major game maker to bring a next-generation console to  market.
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Microsoft Corp. said on Wednesday it   would launch an HD DVD player for its Xbox 360 game console on   November 22 in Japan for 20,790 yen ($177), matching rival Sony   Corp.'s PlayStation 3 in high-definition DVD functions.
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Sony Corp. (6758.T) on Friday cut  the price of its new game machine PlayStation 3 by 20 percent  in Japan, in a surprise move that will attract more customers  but likely widen losses in its game division.
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Microsoft Co. is set to release a cheaper, bare-bones version of the Xbox 360 video game console in Japan to boost flagging sales ahead of the arrival of new machines from rivals later in the year.
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Microsoft cuts the Japanese price of the Xbox console by 13% to compete with the Wii and PlayStation 3.
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Sony Corp.  plans to  phase out the cut-priced $499 model of its PlayStation 3 video  game machine, leaving only a higher capacity $599 model for  sale in the United States, the company said on Monday.
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CHIBA, Japan  - Sony Corp. 6758.T said on   Tuesday it will launch its Blu-ray high-definition optical disc   recorder in Japan in December, with an expected price tag of   around 300,000 yen ($2,550) for a model with a 500-gigabyte   hard disk drive.
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Sony Corp. 6758.T said on Tuesday it   would cut the price of its PlayStation 2 game console by about   19 percent to 16,000 yen ($138) in Japan as it gears up for the   eagerly awaited launch in November of the PlayStation 3.
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Microsoft Corp.  said on Thursday it would take a more than $1 billion charge in the most recent quarter due to costs for a new extended warranty program for its Xbox 360 video game console.
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Microsoft Corp. said on Thursday it would launch the advanced version of its Xbox 360 game console, Xbox 360 Elite, on October 11 in Japan, a country where sales of its game gear lag far behind rival machines from Nintendo Co. Ltd. and Sony Corp.