Microsoft Corp plans to slash the price of its high-end Xbox 360 video game console by $100, or 25 percent, stepping up the price war in the video game console market. Effective Friday, Microsoft will drop the price of the Xbox 360 Elite to $299.99 in the United States, just days after Sony Corp cut the rival PlayStation 3 to $299 from $399.

Analysts have said the cuts will pressure Nintendo Co Ltd to lower the price of its best-selling Wii console, which retails for $249, but for now the company is standing firm. “We don't have such a plan,” Nintendo spokesman Yasuhiro Minagawa said when asked about a price cut. Among this generation of game consoles, the Xbox is No. 2 in the United States behind the Wii. But U.S. sales of the Xbox are up 17 percent this year, the only console to show growth.