| WASHINGTON: Sony said on Monday it would begin selling its PlayStation 3 video game console in November for $499 (Rs23,400) in North America, challenging Microsoft’s early dominance in the market for next-generation machines. Sony won the previous generation battle as its PS2 outsold the original Xbox, but Microsoft is expected to capitalise on a head start to at least gain ground this time with its Xbox 360 console in a global gaming industry expected to generate about $30 billion in revenue this year. Sony’s standard PS3 will have a 20-gigabyte hard drive and debut on November 11 in Japan and November 17 in most of the rest of the world. The unit will retail for $536 in Japan and $634 in Europe. The electronics giant also showed off a motion-sensitive wireless controller, a feature similar to the controllers being offered by Nintendo in its upcoming game machine. Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter said the price was competitive and the controller would make many gamers wait for the PS3 rather than buy Microsoft's Xbox 360, which was launched last year. “I think they are going to kick Microsoft’s butt,” he said after Sony showed off the controller in a news conference ahead of the Electronic Entertainment Expo, which begins later this week. Video game fans have been waiting to see what Sony would offer, and especially at what price, in order to decide whether to wait for the PS3 or buy an Xbox 360 now. | 
