Nintendo's new Wii console will be launched before Christmas

The Wii will cost 25,000 yen or lower in Japan and $250 (�133) or less in the US, said Nintendo as it revealed its financial results.

The company added it aims to sell six million machines by March 2007.

The Wii is due out towards the end of the year, competing with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360.

The three companies are battling for a share of a video games industry worth some $30bn (�16bn).

Cheaper machine

Nintendo unveiled its Wii console at the E3 games expo in Los Angeles earlier this year.

The PlayStation 3 is due out in November

At the time, it did not reveal the cost of the machine, but analysts had expected it to be lower than its competitors.

At a news conference in Osaka, Nintendo senior managing director Yoshihiro Mori confirmed what many wanted to hear.

The price range set by Nintendo contrasts with the cost of Sony's new PlayStation 3, which is due to hit the shops in November.

A basic version of the console will cost $499 (�266), while a premium model will sell for $599 (�320).

The exact price in Britain has not been announced but the head of Sony Computer Entertainment in the UK has suggested it could be around �425.

Prices for Microsoft's Xbox 360, which went on sale last November, start at $299 (�209 in the UK).

Wii hopes

The Wii console is key to Nintendo's future success.

The company has just posted a 19% drop in annual profits, warning that results for its current financial year will be weaker than previously expected.

It is looking to the launch of the Wii to help its bottom line. Nintendo plans to ship six million consoles by March next year and aims to sell 17 million games for it.

The console has a one-handed controller that looks like a TV remote control.