Sony cuts price of 80GB PS3, launches 40GB model in US

Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. (SCEA) confirmed on Thursday that it will cut the price of its 80GB PlayStation 3 game console by $100, or 17 percent, in the United States, in an attempt to boost sales and regain the market share it is gradually loosing to arch-rivals, Nintendo and Microsoft.

Tokyo, Japan-based tech mammoth’s American unit SCEA announced yesterday that its 80GB PS3 model will be available in North America for a lower price of $499, below the original launch price by $100, with immediate effect.

The world’s largest maker of video game consoles, Sony has launched the 80GB model of its PlayStation 3 (PS3) computer entertainment system with a $599 price-tag.

“We're pleased to offer the consumer a lower price point without sacrificing the core technology components that make PS3 the most advanced high-definition entertainment system available,” said Jack Tretton, President and CEO, SCEA. “Every PS3 comes with a Blu-ray drive, HDMI output, an integrated Wi-Fi connection, Cell Broadband Engine and a built-in hard-drive.”

Intended for online gaming and entertainment enthusiasts, who require larger storage space to download more games and other entertainment content from PlayStation Network, the 80GB PS3 model comes standard with Cell Broadband Engine (Cell/B.E.), Blu-ray Disc (BD) player, built-in HDD, 1080p high-definition output, Wi-Fi connectivity and SIXAXIS wireless controller.

In addition, Sony has confirmed the upcoming availability of the long-expected 40GB PlayStation 3, a lower-cost version of the Blu-Ray game console, in the United States.

Earlier this month, SCEE, the European division of Sony confirmed the availability of the new PS3 model in Europe. The model went on sale in the continent on October 10th with a €399 ($564) price tag.

Sony said that this latest model in the PS3 family will retail for US$399.99 in the North American markets. Due launch on this November 2nd, just in time for the holiday season, the newest PS3 console will include a 40GB hard drive, Blu-ray disc drive, Wi-Fi and High Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) output to HDTVs.

Sony also announced that the 40GB model of PS3 would be released in Japan on Nov. 11.

This new system will also feature Wi-Fi connectivity, a Sixaxis controller, and includes a copy of Spider-Man 3 on Blu-ray Disc. But, it contains only two USB slots instead of four provided in the 60 and 80GB models. Moreover, the device drops hardware PlayStation 2 compatibility, and it won't have the multi memory card port. However, it will be capable of running PS3 games.

Officially announced in May 2005, PS3, Sony’s third video game console and the successor to the 7-year-old PlayStation 2, boasts of Cell processors that are purportedly 10 times faster than current-generation computer processors. Besides Cell, PS3 features a hard drive as standard, an in-built broadband adapter and a Blu-ray disc drive.

Despite being technologically advanced than its rivals, sales of PlayStation 3 have significantly trailed those systems. Sony has enjoyed an iron grip on the video game console market with its two previous PlayStation models, PlayStation (1994) and PlayStation 2 (2000). The combined units sold for the two models recorded a high of over 200 million units globally.

The Japanese game giant in June announced its plans to launch at least 380 new game titles for its PlayStation 3 gaming console in order to boost up the sales of its next-generation console which is continuously losing its market share to Nintendo company’s wildly popular gaming console, Wii.

The three biggies in gaming arena, Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, are locked in a fierce battle for dominance in the $13 billion U.S. video game market, and for the moment, Sony is lagging behind both of its competitors in terms of sales, while Nintendo has emerged as the numero uno in sales.