Sony Corp. lowered the price of the PlayStation 2 video game console to $179 in the United States ahead of the introduction of an updated version next month, a company spokeswoman said on Tuesday.
In order to clear out inventories of the existing unit, Sony Computer Entertainment of America spokeswoman Molly Smith said retailers were informed of a change in pricing.
The new PS2 hitting shelves next month at $199 includes an adapter for online game play and modifications to the hardware that allows it to play home-made DVDs. That version of the market-leading console was announced at a press conference Tuesday morning at E3, the video game industry trade show in Los Angeles.
By Tuesday afternoon most of the nation's largest retailers of video games reflected the discounted price on their Web sites, including GameStop Corp., Electronics Boutique Holdings Corp. and Best Buy Co. Inc.
Smith initially said early Tuesday the price cuts had been the initiative of the retailers but later said the decision had been that of SCEA, which had lowered the wholesale cost of the unit.
Many video game industry analysts had not been expecting price cuts on the PS2, Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox and Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s GameCube until the fall.
But the move by Sony could increase the pressure on its two rivals to follow suit.
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News source:
WinBeta
