The head of Microsoft Corp's Xbox game console business said on Thursday the company's main benchmark when it comes to pricing would remain Sony Corp and not Nintendo Co Ltd.
The comments from Robbie Bach, Microsoft's chief Xbox officer, followed a price cut by Nintendo in the United States on its GameCube console to $99 from $149 in a move aimed at building momentum for the crucial holiday season.
"We've been selling at a price premium to GameCube since the first day and I don't think that's going to change," Bach said at a news conference in Tokyo.
The Nintendo price cut makes the GameCube $80 cheaper than the second-placed Xbox or Sony's market-leading PlayStation 2 (PS2), both of which start at $179.
While the GameCube has been stronger in Japan and Europe, in the United States it has settled into third place, with an installed base about 29 percent smaller than that of the Xbox.
Both Sony and Microsoft have announced special bundle packages for the holiday season that include free games -- offers that dashed widespread industry hopes the hardware makers would cut their prices.
News source: Reuters
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