In a move that was slightly surprising, Sony announced a price slash to its Play Station 3 (PS3) video game system. This is a $100 cut, or 17 percent of its old price, retailing it for about $500.
The price slash probably came about in an effort to move up the ladder in the video game wars. Currently the Sony PS3 ranks third in sales, with the Microsoft Xbox 360 in second place and the Nintendo Wii capturing the gold, so to speak, in first place.
Rumors have it that Microsoft is planing to slash its prices on the Xbox 360 as well, in order to remain competitive. Lately, the Xbox 360 has been suffering from negative publicity due to hardware failure with its unit.
There are probably no immediate plans by Nintendo to slash the price of the Wii, since the demand for this system still outflanks the supply, and Wiis are still hard to find in stores, eight months after the launch.
The PS3 price cut will position it at only $20 more than the most expensive version of the Xbox 360. It will still cost twice as much as the best selling Wii, which retails at $250.
Sony predicts that the price drop will double their sales of the PS3. Analysts agree that the price drop is sure to boost sales, but they predict a more modest 50 percent increase.
Sony will also be introducing a new version of the PS3 that features an 80-GB hard drive and includes the popular video game “Motorstorm.” Motorstorm has already sold a million copies all on its own. That version of the PS3 will sell for $600 and is targeted for gamers who need the hard drive space to download a lot of new games from Sony’s online network.
Mary Ann Romans also writes for the Frugal Living Blog here at Families.com, where she shares money saving tips for today’s families.
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