Sony has launched the PlayStation 3 in India, nearly six months after its release in Japan, Europe and the US.

Apart from gaming, PS3 offers playing of movies and songs as well as Internet access. But is that a good enough reason to price it higher by US$300 than rival Microsoft's Xbox? The price of the PlayStation 3 in India is Rs39,900 (US$975), while the Xbox is available in the range of Rs19,990 (US$488) to Rs27,750 (US$677).

The games for this console will cost around Rs2,799 per unit. Xbox 360 games cost between Rs1,499 and Rs2,510. One needs to pay an additional Rs2,990 for a SIXAXIS wireless controller and Rs1,990 each for a Blu-ray remote control and HDMI cable.

Therefore, it seems PlayStation 3 is being positioned for the top-end of the gaming console market. Sony might be banking on PlayStation's cult following and hoping the Indian PS2 users upgrade to the PS3. The PlayStation 2 console is available in the market for Rs8,000 (US$195).

Nintendo has not officially released Wii in India, but it is available in the gray market for approximately Rs15,000 (US$366). Microsoft is planning to launch the Xbox Live platform in India in a month's time.