Game console wars heat up

The games console price war started to heat up today after Nintendo slashed £40 off the price of its new GameCube console, before it is even available.

Gamers will be able to get their hands on Nintendo's latest console on 3 May, but instead of the £169 they were expecting to shell out, it will cost only £129.

Last week Microsoft cut the price of its Xbox console to £199 following disappointing sales in Europe, putting it on a par with the PlayStation 2.

In the UK, some 30,000 people have pre-ordered GameCubes. Nintendo is hoping that the price cut will push up demand.

Still leading the field is Sony's PlayStation 2 offering, although the price cuts announced by Nintendo will increase the pressure on the market leader.

Now a couple of years old, the PS2 console is less powerful than both the GameCube and the Xbox. And unlike the GameCube, PS2 users have to shell out a further £27 for a memory card in order to save games.

Traditionally, console makers have cut prices 12 months after launch, to revive interest. But price-cutting before launch shows how competitive the industry has become.