Delay-hit PlayStation cheaper
2006-09-22 13:40
Tokyo - Sony Corp on Friday slashed the planned price of its delay-ridden PlayStation 3 by one-fifth in Japan, preparing for a sharp dogfight against cheaper game consoles from rivals Microsoft and Nintendo.
Sony Computer Entertainment cut the retail price of the standard PlayStation 3 (PS3) to 49 980 yen from 62 790 yen as it gears up for a crucial domestic launch in time for the year-end holiday shopping season.
The announcement, made at the Tokyo Game Show, comes as Sony struggles to shore up investor confidence after a series of delays to the pivotal new PS3 and a spate of embarrassing recalls of its computer batteries.
"This is unprecedented for a big manufacturer to be cutting prices before a product release. It shows how much Sony is under pressure," said Hiroshi Kamide, director of research at KBC Securities Japan.
Sony hopes the deep price cut for the standard 20-gigabyte hard disc version of the PS3, which is due to go on sale in Japan on November 11, will put it in a better position to compete with rivals Nintendo and Microsoft.
"We wanted to offer a sense of affordability to Japanese game players," said a spokesperson for Sony Computer Entertainment.
Nintendo Co Ltd will launch its next-generation Wii game machine in December at a price of 25 000 yen while Microsoft plans to cut the price of its already launched Xbox 360 to 29 800 yen on November 2.
Sony, which is recovering from a profit slump, said the price tag of the high-end version featuring a 60-gigabyte hard disc will also be lowered but did not disclose the reduced price.
It maintained its planned retail price of $499 for the standard PS3 in the United States ahead of the November launch there.
The success of the PS3 is considered vital to a revival at Sony, which is in the midst of major restructuring including 10 000 job cuts.
Sony was forced to delay the global launch of the PS3 by about six months until November this year, giving the Xbox 360 a one-year head start.
The company spooked investors again earlier this month by announcing a fresh delay until March 2007 to the rollout of the PS3 in Europe, Russia, the Middle East, Africa and Australasia.
The move added to concerns over production problems at the group, whose shares tumbled last month after US computer makers Dell and Apple Computer announced recalls of millions of potentially hazardous Sony computer batteries.