Sony made an unusual and historic announcement on Friday when President Ken Kutaragi told attendees of the Tokyo Game Show that the PlayStation 3 would see a price cut before the system even reaches store shelves in Japan. Sony said that the move to cut the price from $515 to $410 for the basic PlayStation 3 unit was a response to consumers that thought the price was too expensive. The system will go on sale on November 11 in Japan.
The move makes the basic PlayStation 3 unit with a 20GB hard drive, HDMI support and Blu-Ray capabilities cheaper than an Xbox 360 and HD DVD add-on. Microsoft has struggled to penetrate the Japanese market with many speculating that the move was a response to increased pressure from Nintendo and their Wii console. Nintendo’s Wii is now just $200 less than PS3, instead of $300 before the price cut was announced. There are currently no plans for a reduced price in America where the system will launch November 17.
