Sony will begin selling its PlayStation 3 video game console in November for $499 in North America, challenging Microsoft's early dominance in the market for next-generation machines.
Sony's entry-level PS3 will have a 20GB hard drive and debut on 11 November in Japan and 17 November in most of the rest of the world. The unit will retail for 59 800 yen ($536) in Japan and 499 euros ($634) in Europe.
The Japanese electronics firm also showed off a motion-sensitive wireless controller that surprised many gamers.
Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter said the price was competitive and the controller would be reason enough for many gamers to wait for the PS3 rather than buy Microsoft's Xbox 360, which debuted late last year.
"I think they are going to kick Microsoft's butt," he said after Sony showed off the controller in a news conference ahead of the E3 Expo, the largest video game show in the world which begins later this week.
Sony will also sell a PS3 with a 60GB hard drive for $599 in the US. All Sony's units will include a Blu-Ray high-definition DVD player. Microsoft's premium Xbox 360 package, which does not include an advanced DVD player and has a 20GB hard drive, costs $400, by comparison.
"We're not about cutting corners to get a product to market," said Kaz Hirai, head of Sony's US game unit.
Video game fans have been waiting to see what Sony would offer, and especially at what price, in order to decide whether to wait for the PS3 or buy an Xbox 360 now.
At stake is dominance in an industry which will rack up about $30 billion in revenue worldwide this year. Sony won the previous-generation battle as its PS2 outsold the original Xbox, but Microsoft is expected to at least gain ground this time.
Sony's Bluetooth-powered motion-sensitive wireless controller is shaped like the controller for the current generation machine, but the advanced controller can shift objects in games when a player moves the unit, without pushing buttons. In a demonstration, a virtual duck lifted out of a tub of water when the controller was jerked upward.
"The controller was the really nice surprise. It was a great move," said Frank Gibeau, GM for North American publishing at video game maker Electronic Arts.
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