Nintendo has announced it will start selling its new game console, the Wii, at the beginning of December in Japan for 25,000 yen (€167).
Nintendo is the third and last major game maker to bring a next-generation console to market.
The Kyoto-based company is hoping to recreate the success of its Gameboy and DS handheld game machines with the Wii, which features an innovative and intuitive controller, described by some as a magic wand.
Nintendo said there would be 16 software titles from 10 developers available at the Japan launch, including The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, by Nintendo.
The company did not set a launch date or price for overseas markets but said they would be very close to the Wii's rollout in Japan.
Sony plans to offer a version of its PlayStation 3 console with a 20-gigabyte hard disk drive in Japan on November 11th for 62,790 yen (€420), and in the United States on November 17th for $499 (€393), setting the stage for a three-way showdown including Microsoft and its Xbox 360 game machine.
In Europe, however, gamers will have to wait until after the year-end shopping season to lay their hands on the PS3 as Sony last week delayed the European launch of the console to March from November due to inadequate supplies of a key component.
Sony's setback could help Nintendo and Microsoft gain ground in the game industry, which is worth nearly $30 billion a year.