The fans of Xbox are getting treated to some real good games by the company. And now, as the holiday season arrives, Microsoft (News - Alert) has introduced a price cut in the cost of the Xbox, which will be real music to their ears. The prices of Xbox 360 are being slashed in Japan by about 13%. This also signified the price war between leading players as the holiday season arrives.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the Xbox 360 console will sell in Japan for ¥34,800 ($304) starting Nov. 1, down from ¥39,795, Microsoft's Japan unit said in a statement. A more basic version of the machine now selling for ¥29,800 will be priced at ¥27,800.

The console market has seen its own ups and downs in the recent years where Sony started as the leader. But recently, the company has faced stiff competition from the likes of Microsoft and Nintendo Co. which has been leading the market with its Wii machine, which has a wand-like remote. Although Microsoft and Sony have announced price cuts in their premium consoles, Kyoto-based manufacturer of Pokemon and Super Mario games hasn't announced any price cuts for the Wii. One of the major reasons for this is the fact that Wii is already cheaper than PlayStation and Xbox. The Wii now sells for $250 in the U.S. and ¥25,000 in Japan. The Xbox 360 costs $350 in the U.S.

But the company has chosen a different path to counter its rivals. It’s trying to be innovative with new features like brain teasers, sport games and virtual pets, instead of the usual shooter and role-playing games. And the results are showing. The company has shipped 9.3 million units around the world, with demands exceeding the supplies. By the end of this fiscal year in March 2008, Wii global shipments are expected to reach 22.3 million.

But Microsoft and Sony are engaged in a serious price cut war. Sony Corp. cut the price of its PlayStation 3 game console sold in the U.S last week and announced similar price cuts in Europe and Japan. So, 80 gigabyte hard drive PlayStation now costs $499 in the U.S., down from $599. This simply means that customers do not need to buy the lower end model now. A new low-end model with a 40-gigabyte drive will go on sale Nov. 2 for $399.

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Raju Shanbhag is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To see more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.