| Set On Stun |

Recently we posted a piece about the NPD report revealing a 29% drop in videogame sales and there was a comment made about what the big three companies might do to combat this. Here’s what I wrote …

Speculation is also out there that this decline may spark another price drop from the big three. There has already been buzz about the PS3 unveiling a slimmed down version of their console much like Microsoft did with their non-hard drive model last year.

Well guess what? The rumors were true as Sony revealed at the Gamescom convention yesterday in Cologne, Germany. Just shy of it’s 3rd birthday the console is now basically half priced at $299. Whether or not this will be the start of a price war or  the way that Sony finally gets to shine at number one remains to be seen. The Wii is already at that price and the 360 console at that price range is only 60 gigs and has no blu-ray player. Granted not everyone has the hardware to really enjoy watching blu-rays (fancy TV, surround sound system) but the mere fact that you can now get one that can also play games at that price point is a fairly attractive incentive.

Price drop or not though Sony still has to offer system sellers the likes of Halo or Mario and of course their PSN is a long way off from competing with Xbox Live which is already years ahead of them in usability and proficiency. This may be the jump start they need though especially going into the fall with many major titles still on the way. Being able to play them on a more affordable system could prove a worthy rationale for gamers and parents who may be thinking about getting a console as a gift for the holiday season.

Best line from the video … “Our target audience is anyone with electricity.”

Similar Posts:

• I So Called This — 360/PS3 Console Price Drop — War It Has Begun
• Blame It on the Game. Nintendo and Microsoft profits down–BFD
• Sony’s Rumor Monger Commercial: Fun With Marketing
• The Future of The Current Generation of Consoles
• Flashback — The Original Xbox