Nintendo of America Inc. said Monday it will cut the price of its GameCube video game console by $50, firing the latest shot in a console price war sparked by price cuts to Sony Corp.'s PlayStation2 and Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox.
The Nintendo cut, effective Tuesday, brings the GameCube price to $149. It follows price reductions last week to PlayStation2 and Xbox, both to $199, down from $299.
Nintendo of America, a unit of Japan's Nintendo Co., made the price cut announcement against the backdrop of this week's Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, which previews the latest hardware and software set for release over the next year.
"It's simple, really. Nintendo is committed to offering our players the best games and the best price," Peter MacDougall, a Nintendo of America marketing executive, said in a statement.
"We were the first manufacturer to reach the $199 price level, and now we're leading the industry to $149," he said.
Nintendo initially said it had no plans to cut the price of the GameCube when Sony and Microsoft announced their cuts last week.
Nintendo, which launched the GameCube in the United States in November, has shipped more than 4.5 million units worldwide so far.