A 30-dollar price cut for the US market will bring the Xbox price to 149 dollars in April from 179 dollars, which is the price of the PlayStation 2 console.

The price in Canada will be cut to 199 Canadian dollars, also 30 dollars lower. Xbox in Mexico will sell for 1,999 pesos, a saving of 500 pesos.

"We have always been committed to providing gamers with the best entertainment experience available," said Mitch Koch, corporate vice president of Microsoft worldwide retail sales.

"At this lower mass market price point, we're opening up this great system to an even broader audience of people who can experience Xbox for the first time."

Sony has sold some 70 million of its game consoles since the PlayStation 2 was introduced in December 2000. Microsoft, which introduced the Xbox 18 months later, has sold just 13.7 million.

Another maker, Japan's Nintendo, has sold 15 million of its GameCube consoles and recently lowered the price to 99 dollars.

SPACE.WIRE