U.S. software giant Microsoft is slashing the price of its Xbox video-game console to 16,800 yen (US$154) ahead of the Christmas shopping season.

The Xbox, which had been selling here for 24,800 yen (US$228), has lagged in sales behind the PlayStation2 machine. Xbox shipments total 9.4 million worldwide, 450,000 of them in Japan. PlayStation2 global sales total 62.6 million and 14 million in Japan.

The Xbox price cut takes effect Nov. 20 and is possible because of the falling costs of console production, Yoshihiro Maruyama, who heads the Xbox division of Microsoft's Japan unit, said Tuesday.

Microsoft also said it will give away the Music Mixer, an Xbox addition that turns the console into a karaoke machine, by distributing them through Japan's popular game magazines, starting Nov. 29.

On the other hand, Sony is promising a new version of the PlayStation2 machine that includes a DVD recorder called PSX later this year in Japan.

By:
Copyright © 2023 CST, Inc. All Rights Reserved