Sony cuts PS3 price with 40GByte model
By Suzanne Deffree, News Editor -- EDN, October 9, 2007
A lower priced, 40GByte hard disk drive (HDD) PlayStation 3 model will be released in Japan next month as Sony looks to make a bigger play in the gaming market with holiday season competition from Nintendo’s Wii and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 continuing to mount.
Tokyo-based Sony Computer Entertainment Japan (SCEJ), a division of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI), today announced the 40GByte PS3 will launch on November 11 in its home country at about $340 (39,980 yen) in clear black and ceramic white. The model is a step down compared to the 60GByte PS3, which launched last November here in the Unites States above the $500 mark. Unlike the 60GByte PS3, the 40GByte PS3 will not play PlayStation 2 titles.
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) also announced Friday plans to sell a 40GByte PS3 in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Australia for $562 (399 Euros) as of October 10. This PS3 version will also not be backward compatible with PS2 titles.
Further making a play for holiday season shoppers, SCEI today announced price reductions on its existing PS3 models. Effective October 17, 20GByte HDD and 60GByte HDD PS3 models currently available will be priced at approximately $384 (44,980 yen) and $469 (54,980 yen), respectively.
Targeting competition specifically from the Wii and its MEMS-based reactive controllers, SCEI said that its DualShock wireless controller, which was revealed at Tokyo Game Show last month and features a “rumble” sensation that shakes the controller at certain points in games, will become available in the Japanese market on November 11 for about $47 (5,500 yen).
Making the models more attractive to prospective holiday shoppers, SCEI said it will give a complimentary Blu-ray copy of “Spider-Man 3” to 200,000 purchasers of the 20GByte HDD and 60GByte HDD models that are currently available in the market from October 17, as well as new 40GByte PS3 from November 11, as part of its marketing campaign.
