http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070709/lf_afp/entertainmentlifestylejapanusgamesony_070709071407
TOKYO (AFP) - Sony Corp. announced Monday a 100-dollar price cut for the PlayStation 3 in North America and plans for a beefed-up version of the console in a bid to catch up with rivals Nintendo and Microsoft.
Sony said it had cut the price of the PlayStation 3 (PS3) with a 60-gigabyte hard drive to 499 dollars in the key North American market, effective immediately.
It also unveiled plans to sell a version of the PS3 with a 80-gigabyte hard drive in North America from next month for 599 dollars, following its launch in South Korea last month.
"We're introducing the 80-gigabyte model and with that comes the price cut of the 60-gigabyte" version, said Sony Computer Entertainment spokeswoman Nanako Kato in Tokyo.
The 80-gigabyte model "isn't that much different from the 60 gigabyte (model). It comes with the same features but more capacity," she said.
Sony has no plans at present to cut the price of the PS3 -- or introduce the beefed up version -- in other markets, Kato said.
"It depends on the demand. Each market has different conditions," she said.
PS3 sales are trailing those of Nintendo's Wii and Microsoft's Xbox 360. The Wii outsold the PS3 by more than six to one in Japan in June, according to research from publisher Enterbrain.
US sales of the Wii with its simple motion-sensing controller have also outpaced those of the PS3.
Even after the price cut, the PS3 is still more expensive than its rivals -- the Wii cost 249 dollars in the United States while the Xbox 360 sells for 299 or 399 dollars.
Sony has much riding on the success of the PS3, which is seen as crucial to the iconic company's future after a series of setbacks, including recalls of millions of faulty computer batteries.
Sony suffered its biggest quarterly loss in four years in the three months to March partly because of its huge investment in the PS3.
Sony already slashed the price of the PS3 by 20 percent in Japan ahead of its launch here last November as it prepared for a fierce fight against the cheaper games consoles from Microsoft and Nintendo.
Still expensive :o
already posted.
YEAH, YOU KNOW, WHY AREN'T S-MODS CLEAING UP THIS BOARD
THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION