LOS ANGELES — Gamers could become winners in a price war this holiday as console manufacturers slug it out for scarce consumer dollars, according to a report this week.

With Nintendo due to release its Wii U game console on Nov. 18 at prices starting at $299.99, rivals Sony and Microsoft are under pressure to make their current-generation consoles more appealing.

One way to do that is to lower the price, said P.J. McNealy, of Digital World Research. He predicted that Sony Corp. will lower the price of its PlayStation 3 console, priced at $249.99, by about $50. Microsoft will likely refrain from cutting the price of its $200 Xbox 360, McNealy wrote.