Microsoft to cut new Xbox price in Japan

Microsoft Corp., which trails Sony Corp. and Nintendo Co. in game-console sales in Japan, said Thursday that it will offer its new Xbox 360 model at a cheaper price in that country than in the U.S. to help gain market share.

The black Xbox 360 Elite will sell for about $390 in Japan, less than the $479.99 price in the U.S., the company said in a statement. The machine, with a 120-gigabyte hard disk drive, goes on sale Oct. 11 in Japan.

"The decision on the pricing was based on the situation in the Japanese market," said Jun Yoshihara, Microsoft's Tokyo-based spokesman.

"We are not satisfied with our position in Japan and working to improve it."

Peter Moore, Microsoft's vice president of interactive entertainment, said in September that insufficient Xbox game titles were the reasons for falling behind Nintendo and Sony in Japan.

Microsoft failed to take advantage of its one-year lead over Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii in Japan, as its software lineup didn't live up to expectations. The company has since increased the number of game titles, courted famous creators and introduced a cheaper model to boost sales.

Microsoft sold 122,565 consoles this year through June 24, compared with sales of 1.78 million Wiis and 503,554 PlayStation 3 units, according to estimates last month by Tokyo-based research firm Enterbrain Inc.

In the U.S., Microsoft outsells Sony. It sold 154,900 Xbox 360 machines in May, compared with sales of 81,600 PS3s, according to data compiled by Port Washington, N.Y.-based NPD Group Inc. Nintendo sold 338,000 Wii units, NPD said.