Sony Corp said on Thursday that it would launch a higher-capacity PlayStation 3 model in North America, as the company continues its effort to make its home console the digital hub of the living room.

The new 250 gigabyte PS3 will be available Nov. 3 for $349.99, giving consumers two configurations to choose from. The company's 120 GB PS3 sells for $299.99 following a recent price cut. Sony is battling with Microsoft Corp , maker of the Xbox 360 console, to become the leader in the digital distribution of content, including games and movies, in the home. John Koller, director of hardware marketing at Sony Computer Entertainment America, said the company was seeing "significant traction" over the past year in distributing content over its PlayStation Network and that many people need more room to store all of it. "Consumers that are coming into the market want to be able to download and own HD movies, large-scalegames, those types of things on a hard drive." The new larger-capacity PS3 will be the same size as the existing model, known as the PS3 Slim. The 250 GB PS3 has already been announced in Asia and European markets. Sony is currently the No. 3 home console maker in the United States, behind Microsoft and Japan's Nintendo, maker of the Wii. Microsoft and Nintendo have also recently cut prices. Koller said Sony was "really bullish" on PS3's prospects for the holiday season, with demand exceeding its expectations. "A lot of retailers are continuing to ask us for more, more, more, and that's a good problem to have," Koller said. "... The $299 price drop has really instigated a tidal wave of consumers that have maybe been sitting on the sidelines."