Microsoft Corp. may reduce pricing of its Xbox 360 game consoles in the USA during E3 Media & Business summit in mid-July in order to sell more of its latest video game systems, an analyst said. The potential move of Microsoft will be inline with similar decisions made in different regions.

“With E3 around the corner, we can expect Microsoft to make some type of announcement regarding a hardware price cut, the introductory of a new hardware SKU with new features, or both,” said EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich in a note to investors, reports GamesIndustry web-site.

Earlier this year – in February, March and April – the world’s largest developer of software lowered pricing of its Xbox 360 game console in Japan, Europe and several Asian markets in order to better compete against Nintendo’s Wii and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.’s PlayStation 3.

Mr. Divnich also projects the PlayStation 3 to continue to outpace the Xbox 360 in terms of sales in the U.S. due to the release of Metal Gear Solid 4, a much-anticipated video game that is set to be available exclusively on the PS3. Potential sales decrease of the X360 is another reason for a price-cut that spurs sales.

In addition, the recent market rumours suggested that Microsoft may bring Blu-ray-equipped Xbox 360 game console onto the market this Fall, which is completely logical, given that the developer positions its latest video game system as an entertainment hub for home.

Microsoft Xbox 360 console is based around triple-core microprocessor developed by IBM, high-definition visual processing unit designed by ATI Technologies, I/O controller engineered by SiS and some other key components. The gaming machine provides a broad set of multimedia capabilities in addition to games. Currently Microsoft Xbox 360 is available for $279, $349 or $449 in the USA depending on the version.

Microsoft did not comment on the news-story.