Nintendo may trigger off price war in games

LOS ANGELES: Video game maker Nintendo Co. Ltd. on Monday said it would price

its new GameCube console at $199.95 in the United States, a near $100 discount

to rival game players.

A company spokesman said that Nintendo's video games for the GameCube would

be priced at $49.95 each. Six Nintendo titles would be available at the launch,

Nintendo said in a statement. Nintendo first unveiled its latest console last

week at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), and said it would launch the

system on November 5 in the United States after a mid-September launch in Japan.

The $199 price for Nintendo's GameCube compares with the $299 price tag

announced last week for Microsoft Corp.'s new Xbox player. The Xbox and GameCube

are scheduled to launch in the United States in the same week. "Nintendo's

pricing is independent, based on the price of its components," Nintendo of

America spokeswoman Perrin Kaplan said. "Our goal is to be affordable for

every household. This is considered a mass market price."

She declined to comment on the system's launch price in Japan. Earlier in the

day Japan's Nikkei news service said the console would be launched in Japan for

25,000 yen, 10,000 yen lower than the price of rival console PlayStation 2.

GameCube software would sell in Japan for 6,800-yen, the Nikkei said.

Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 2 launched at a price of $299 in the United States

in October. Although the company has said it will not lower its price, several

analysts have forecast a $50 discount once competitors hit the market. Analysts

said that Nintendo's price was in line with or lower than expectations.

"The price point fits with what the system is," International Data

Corp. (IDC) research firm analyst Schelley Olhava said. "It makes sense

since their unit is targeted at the younger audience, 8-to 14-year-olds, who

don't have a large disposable income." Nintendo's GameCube does not have

the ability to play CDs and DVDs, like the other two game consoles.

The Nikkei also reported Nintendo expects to ship 2.5 million units in Japan

and the United States this year.

(C) Reuters Limited 2001.