Sony Announces Price Drop for the PlayStation 3

By Jane McEntegart
published

Suprise!!

Sony yesterday announced that, effective immediately, it is cutting the price of the PS3 by $50. The price cut, unveiled at Sony's Gamescom 2011 keynote, means the 160GB PS3 will now retail for $249.99 in the U.S., €249.99 in Europe and ¥24,980 in Japan. The 320GB model is now going for $299. Sony's Jack Tretton commented on the price cut on the official PlayStation blog and attributed it to the console's ability to maintain momentum:

"While others in the space are losing steam, PlayStation 3 is gaining momentum and giving gamers everywhere more of what they want: an unparalleled line-up of exclusive games and access to the best in sports, movies and TV, all at a great value," he wrote. "The new price will make the PS3 more accessible than ever before, so there’s never been a better time to join PlayStation Nation. We know that while future-proof technology is important to you, content is still king — that’s why we continue to focus on bringing you exclusive “must have” titles that are unmatched by anything else on the market."

Tretton also announced a new bundle for fans hoping to take advantage of the new pricing. For a limited time only, you can grab an inFAMOUS 2 bundle that retails for $299 and includes a 320 GB PlayStation 3, a copy of inFAMOUS 2 and a 30-day membership to PlayStation Plus.

Sony's PlayStation 3 console was launched five years ago, in November of 2006. The 60GB model debuted at $599.

Jane McEntegart

Jane McEntegart works in marketing communications at Intel and was previously Manager of Content Marketing at ASUS North America. Before that, she worked for more than seven years at Tom's Guide and Tom's Hardware, holding such roles as Contributing Editor and Senior News Editor and writing about everything from smartphones to tablets and games consoles.

30 Comments Comment from the forums
  • agnickolov
    Making way for the next generation in a couple of years. And I still don't care...
    Reply
  • mman74
    I still have my original fat PS3 from when I bought in 2006! Fanboyism aside you have got to say that this is excellent value for money. You get a 3D capable PS3 player and very versatile machine. Some great PS3 exclusive franchises, Infamous, Unchartered, Resistance, Killzone, Heavy Rain, Little Big Adeventure, SOCOM, Ratchet & Clank that will never appear on another platform (too many times Xbox say exclusive but they end up on the PC or lose them like Mass Effect).
    Even if you have an Xbox and you are very happy, surely now is a great time to take a look at a PS3.
    Reply
  • willonidas
    Awesome, was looking into buying a PS3.

    This plus the newly announced MGS HD Collection is going to make me one happy guy.
    Reply
  • Thunderfox
    mman74 Sony ad
    You forgot Sly Cooper.
    Reply
  • amk-aka-Phantom
    too many times Xbox say exclusive but they end up on the PC or lose them like Mass Effect

    Bless that "loss", it enabled one of the greatest game of all times to be played on a proper platform.
    Reply
  • pinkeyes
    Thunderfox gets a +1

    And the quote from Jack Trenton above should read:

    "While others in the space are losing steam, PlayStation 3 is gaining momentum and giving hackers everywhere more of what they want: Your personal information, on a silver platter"
    Reply
  • AbdullahG
    These price drops make me regret getting a console early. Now I feel bad :(
    Reply
  • f-gomes
    I'm a bit tired of this 249$ = 249€ bull. In my book, 249€ is 350$. 249$ in the US should mean we could buy it in Europe for less than 180€.
    Reply
  • rantoc
    So Sony have a hard time selling them after the psn hack, wonder why! Buy a cheap console, get your credit card stolen and its all of a sudden not that cheap anymore!

    f-gomesI'm a bit tired of this 249$ = 249€ bull. In my book, 249€ is 350$. 249$ in the US should mean we could buy it in Europe for less than 180€.
    To few who votes with the money and ignore overpriced items signaling the companies its ok. Sad but true!
    Reply
  • Markor
    Sony KILLED support for running LINUX on PS3 on newer models.

    They can lower prices to 0(ZERO) if they like, I absolutely have no reason to consider PS3 as game console or as anything else with this kind of SONY destroying faith in company.

    Consoles are non standard, proprietary, remotely controlled and unusable for most of the things.
    They should just DIE.
    Also that Euro to USD thing.. I think I will pass on that US produced overpriced Shit.
    Reply