Sony Cuts PlayStation 3 Price, Rival Console Makers May Follow Suit
Bloomberg reports that Sony's long overdue reduction of the PlayStation 3 price from $399 to $299 is likely to be followed by price cuts on other consoles. The price cut has been rumored since at least February. Sony also announced the thinner $299 PS3 Slim yesterday.
The PlayStation 3's price will be $299 in the U.S. starting today, with comparable reductions in Europe and Japan, the Tokyo-based company said at a games conference in Germany yesterday. Nintendo offers the Wii for $250 and Microsoft Corp. sells its Xbox 360 machine for as little as $200.
Sony Chairman Howard Stringer, who rebuffed calls for cheaper prices as recently as last month, reversed course after PS3 sales tumbled to a two-year low. Sales of Nintendo’s market- leading Wii dropped for the first time last quarter as the global recession drove down consumer spending.
The Bloombergarticle says that Sterne Agee & Leach analyst Arvind Bhatia believes Microsoft will soon drop the $399 Elite Xbox 360 model by $100. Arvind Bhatia also expects Nintendo to cut $50 off the price of a $250 Wii by early November.
Bloomberg 
