PlayStation gets $50 pre-Xmas price cut

Sony is slashing the price of its PlayStation 3 game console across North America, Europe and in Japan, the company said, as it looks to spur demand ahead of the year-end shopping season.

Sony Computer Entertainment cut the price for the 160-gigabyte PS3 from US$299 to US$249 in North America and from 299 euros to 249 euros in Europe.

The company will also lower the price of the console in Japan, from 29 980 yen to 24 980, while slashing some 14 percent off the prices of a 320-gigabyte PS3 in the three leading markets, now costing US$299.

Sony’s move comes after its rival Nintendo cut the price of its slow-selling 3DS handheld console, released in February, by around 40 percent to 15 000 yen from August 11 in Japan.

Nintendo has said similar cuts will follow in foreign markets by September as it looks to revive the fortunes of the world’s first video game console with a 3-D screen that works without special glasses.

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