Sony announced today that it’s set to reduce the cost of its highly anticipated PlayStation 3 console by 20% which puts the consoles retail price more inline with Microsoft’s Xbox 360.
This move currently only applies to the 20 gigabyte model which is set to retail for 49,980 yen ($430/£225) and is currently only applicable to consumers in Japan, with no word mentioned of a similar price cut to take place in either America or Europe.
In another surprise announcement Sony revealed that the 20 gigabyte model would also ship with an HDMI port which previously was only to set to become available on the premium 60 gigabyte PlayStation 3 console.
Though the pricing for the 20 gigabytes model still remains significantly higher than the Japanese retail pricing for Nintendo’s Wii, it still remains to be seen just what effect this price decrease will have on Wii sales.
I don’t think this will affect the Wii sales in Japan much. Nintendo go for a very different type of gamer than Sony do. Sony can eat my knickers for the way they are treating people. No price cut in the rest of the world? Screw them. Many people will become Wii60 owners
:)
I think it will affect sales slightly more than it would have had there been no price cut. As you say Nintendo are aiming for a different core audience than Sony, though it’s rather apparent that the Wii will be a success due to the Japanese’s love of all things quirky. Sony definitely have their work cut out for them this time around and the announcement that the price cut won’t apply to the rest of the world will have even die hard Sony fans questioning the companies current intentions.
I really do not understand what is going on in the Sony camp. They need to sack alot of people and start afresh.
It almost appears as if the company is trying its hardest to get gamers to dislike them. Never a wise thing, though I’m sure they will recover.
Oh they will quickly get over it. There are far too many people who will accept the shit and still buy a PS3 – enough people to pass the note to Sony that their actions are okay.
I’m consistently amazed by Sonys unexplainable actions and attitude, and I think this price cut which subsequently only applies to Japan is a complete joke to both the Americans and the Europeans.