Sony cuts price of PlayStation 3 in Japan as video-game wars heat up

TOKYO — Sony Corp. said Friday it will slash the price of its much-anticipated PlayStation 3 video game console in Japan by 20 percent, heating up the competition in the next-generation gaming war against rivals Microsoft and Nintendo.

The announcement comes just days after Microsoft Corp. announced that it would roll out an external high-definition DVD player for its Xbox 360 in an effort to match the PlayStation 3, due to be released in November with its own Blu-ray DVD technology.

Sony Computer Entertainment President Ken Kutaragi, speaking at the Tokyo Game Show in Makuhari, just east of Tokyo, said the move was in response to consumer complaints the upcoming console was too pricey.

Sony will cut the domestic price of its basic PlayStation 3 model to 47,600 yen, or about $410, from an originally planned 59,800 yen, or $515. That puts the PlayStation 3 in the same range as the combined basic Xbox 360 and HD DVD player in Japan, where the duo will sell for 49,600 yen, or $427.

There are no plans to lower prices in the United States or other markets, Sony spokeswoman Nanako Kato said. In Japan, the game will hit stores on Nov. 11.

In the United States, it will go on sale Nov. 17 at $499 for a 20-gigabyte hard-drive version and $599 for the 60-gigabyte version.

The decision could give Sony a badly needed boost at a time of embarrassing delays for the highly anticipated upgrade. Rival Nintendo Co. is also scheduled to release its next-generation Wii gaming system by year's end, while Xbox 360 has been selling in Japan since December 2005.

PlayStation 3, initially planned for earlier this year, has been postponed twice. Sony now expects to ship only 2 million units by year's end instead of an original projection of 4 million.

The price cut affects the basic PlayStation 3 model, which comes with a 20-gigabyte hard drive. Another upscale version of the PlayStation 3 will have a 60-gigabyte hard drive, but Sony is leaving its pricing to retailers.

Xbox 360 was rushed to market last year to get a head start on its rivals, but it has seen sluggish sales in Japan, which is one of the world's biggest video game markets but one in which players have a deep loyalty to homegrown Sony.