The console will be released in Japan on Dec. 2. The Nintendo release will be two days after Sony ships its PlayStation 3 console in two versions: $549 and $659 with a larger hard drive.

Microsoft's Xbox 360 was released last November at $399.99 and $499.99 with a hard drive and extra accessories.

Nintendo, which has a loyal following thanks to its original titles, knows the Wii (pronounced "We") will sell to its existing gamers. But it hopes the price will attract people looking to pick up a second console.

"We're hoping if you're already an Xbox 360 owner and you want a new experience, that you'll pick up a Wii this Christmas or maybe next year," Ron Bertram, Nintendo of Canada's vice-president and general manager, said in an interview from Dallas.

"And if you've never played before, we think that this may get you hooked on video games."

The Wii is not as powerful as the Sony and Microsoft machines but offers a new controller system that allows the gamer to control what happens on screen by moving the controller. So in a baseball game, the player can wield the controller like a bat. And in a shooter, the gamer can use it to point at a target.

The Wii will also allow users to surf the Internet.

Nintendo promises 30 Wii games will be available by Dec. 31. "The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess" will be available at launch for the Wii, and a couple of weeks later for the GameCube. Nintendo-developed games will retail for $59.95.

The Wii price includes one wireless controller, one so-called Nunchuk controller and the Wii "Sports" game.

The new console is being manufactured in China and Japan.

"We're looking at a million (units) for North America at launch," said Bertram. "When Sony came out (with their PS3 announcement), they said 300,000.

"If we get what we're supposed to get, this will be our most plentiful launch in the 15 years I've been at Nintendo. All signs are actually extremely positive."

Bertram said Nintendo was not concerned about coming out after Sony.

"Obviously the earlier you go, the less product you have available," he said. "Sony is trying to do what they're trying to do - they're trying to rule the entertainment universe with this very expensive machine. And we're just trying to get more people playing video games and the people who are playing video games playing our system. We knew they were on the 17th but that really wasn't a big concern for us."

The Wii, which is about the size of a large paperback book, is the successor to Nintendo's GameCube, the third-best selling console of its generation after the PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox.

Nintendo's Game Boy and DS are dominant in the market for portable game machines, but the company hasn't been a market leader in consoles since the early 1990s.

Notes: Capcom's "Dead Rising" for the Xbox 360 debuted as the top-selling video game in Canada in August, pushing Nintendo's "New Super Mario Bros" (DS) to No. 2. EA's "Madden NFL 07" debuted at both No. 3 (PS2) and No. 5 (Xbox 360) with Square Enix's "Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus" (PS2) entering the chart at No. 4.