Sony Cuts Price of Much-Anticipated PlayStation 3 to $410 as Video Game Wars Heat Up
TOKYO (AP) -- Sony Corp. said Friday it will lower the price of its much-anticipated PlayStation 3 video game console, heating up the competition in the next-generation gaming war against rivals Microsoft and Nintendo.
The announcement comes just days after Microsoft announced that it would roll out an external high definition DVD player for its Xbox 360 in an effort to match the PlayStation 3, which is due to be released later this year with its own Blu-ray DVD technology.
Sony will cut the price of its basic PlayStation 3 model in Japan to 47,600 yen ($410), from an originally planned 59,800 yen ($515). That puts the PlayStation 3 in the same range as the combined basic Xbox 360 and HD DVD player in Japan, where the duo will sell for 49,600 yen ($427).
The price cut affects the basic PlayStation 3 model, which comes with a 20 gigabyte hard drive. Another upscale version of the PlayStation 3 will have a 60 gigabyte hard drive, but Sony is leaving its pricing to retailers.
The announcement could give the PlayStation 3 a badly needed boost in Sony's home market.
The launch of Sony's PlayStation 3, initially planned for earlier this year, has been postponed twice. A decision to delay PlayStation 3 in Europe for four months until March was announced earlier this month.
The PlayStation 3 will hit stores in Japan on Nov. 11 and in the United States on Nov. 17, but Sony now expects to ship only 2 million units by year's end instead of 4 million as originally planned.
