Sony Slashes Prices on PlayStation 3 Video Game Console
Sony is cutting the price of its basic PlayStation 3 gaming console by nearly a fifth in the U.S., hoping to jump-start sales of a device losing ground to Microsoft Corp's Xbox.
Sony , which has been struggling to recover from a massive hacking effort that turned up serious security flaws on its PlayStation network, unveiled the cuts just months before the peak holiday shopping season gets into gear.
The price tag on the 160 GB version will fall from Tuesday to $249, from $299 originally. In Europe and Japan, the basic console's price also has been slashed to 249 euros and 24,980 yen, from 299 euros and 29,980 yen, respectively.
And the larger-storage 320 GB version of the PlayStation console—which also competes with Nintendo's Wii —will go for $299 in the United States versus $349 originally, Sony announced on the eve of Gamescom, Europe's largest video games show.
The price cut announced Tuesday comes less than a month after rival Nintendo cut the price of its handheld Nintendo 3DS player. The 3DS launched with much fanfare but lost sales momentum. That device lets players view 3-D games and videos without special glasses. But the value of 3-D is not apparent to everyone. The iPhone and other smartphones are also competing with handheld gaming devices.
Elsewhere, the 320 GB version now costs 299 euros and 29,980 yen in their respective markets, from 349 euros and 34,980 yen previously.
Sony said the new pricing would take immediate effect in Europe, but start Aug. 18 in Japan.
The Japanese company, which once dominated consumer electronics worldwide, also plans to release this year a new, slimmed-down and cheaper version of its PlayStation Portable handheld device, responding to a revival of interest in the old model, said Jim Ryan, the incoming President of Sony Entertainment.
The new device will cost 99 euros, but will not have Wi-Fi access.
Sony has sold over 71 million units of its PlayStation Portable and has seen a resurgence of interest in this category this year, which executives said was due to its "PSP Essentials" range—games that retail at 9.99 euros.