Nintendo has entered the battle of the giants with the Japanese games Company set to take on both Sony and Microsoft. Nintendo say that they will launch its new Wii console on 2 December in Japan with other Countries to follow soon afterwards the group has said.
The Japanese electronics giant confirmed the machine would be priced at around $350 Australian or less.
Nintendo declined to reveal when it would be releasing the machine in Australia but said US buyers would pay no more than $250 for it. The launch will trigger a three-way battle in the $30bn gaming market with Sony’s PS3 and Microsoft’s Xbox 360. Sony plans to offer a version of its PlayStation 3 console with a 20-gigabyte hard disk drive in Japan on 11 November and a week later in the US. Australia could be as late April 2007 a move that will see them lose massive market share.
The PS3 console will be priced at $995. While Microsoft has already launched its Xbox 360, it will be keeping up the pressure by launching a raft of new games.
Nintendo hopes the Wii will have across-the-board appeal, as it claims its new-style remote control – a wireless wand-like device that can be used like a baton – should offer an easy playing style.
