The Japanese electronics giant Sony announced on Wednesday, August 17, a decline in the price of its consoles PlayStation 3 (PS3) in Japan, the United States and Europe.
In Europe, the model with a 160 gigabyte hard drive will be sold against 299 and 249 euros in the United States, 249 against $ 299 (172 against 207 euros). Versions have a 320 GB hard drive will benefit from lower rates similar to be offered for 299 euros and 299 dollars. “Historically, we see that our lower prices lead to increases in sales and we expect the same thing this time, ” said Jack Tretton , head of PlayStation in the unit Sony U.S. , the Reuters news agency.
This decrease in the price of the PS3 comes a week after the publication of sales figures of new games in July, which reached their lowest level in nearly five years, according to the specialist retail NDP. This decision could therefore benefit as retailers, video game publishers like Electronic Arts and accessory manufacturers. “One can imagine that the entire industry regains confidence ” , says analyst Jesse Divnich .
With this decision taken at the show Gamescom Cologne , Sony also hopes to draw a line under the matter of piracy PlayStation Network (PSN), which had paralyzed the online services group in the spring.
Handheld consoles, STRATEGIC SECTOR
By lowering its prices two years after the launch of a thinner version of its home console, Sony also plans to compete with Microsoft, maker of the Xbox 360. According to data from the site VG Chartz , the two groups are neck and neck, around the world. Microsoft has sold 55 million Xbox and Sony PS3 52 million since 2006. Nintendo continues to lead with more than 87 million Wii sold worldwide. For Sony and Microsoft, the United States and Europe remain areas where competition is the front.
With the increased competition from smartphones, one battlefield to the home of Sony handheld. With DS, Nintendo has added almost 150 million users. But after sales of its new version, 3DS, considered lackluster , Nintendo had to lower the price of its console. For its part, Sony announced this year in Europe, a new version of its handheld console, the PSP, thinner and less expensive (99 euros). According to VG Chartz, Sony has elapsed so far nearly 70 million units of its laptop in the world. But the biggest challenge remains the Sony PlayStation Vita, next-generation handheld console, the output of which was postponed to early 2012, Europe and the United States.
Following the announcements of the Japanese, the title listed on Sony New York finished down 1.8% Tuesday and the action ended down by 0.76% Wednesday in Tokyo, a Japanese market down to 0, 55%.
Via