Sony Cuts PS3 Price in Japan, Introduces White Model

October 09, 2007 | By: James Brightman

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As sales continue to lag behind the Wii, Sony has decided to reduce the price on its PS3 in Japan while also introducing the low-end 40GB model (in two colors). While a price cut can never hurt, analysts thought Sony should have lowered it even more.

While North America still waits for the much rumored $399 PS3, Sony Computer Entertainment has officially announced that a price drop on the console will take place in Japan on October 17. The 20GB model and the 60GB model will both see their prices slashed by about ten percent.

The 20GB version will retail for 44,980 yen ($384) while the 60GB SKU will sell for 54,980 yen ($469).

In addition, Sony said it will introduce a 40GB model for just 39,980 yen ($341). This is the same model that's been introduced in Europe, meaning it features no backwards compatibility with the PS2 library. The 40GB SKU is scheduled to launch in Japan on November 11 in either black or ceramic white.

While Sony cut the price by roughly 5,000 yen, some analysts were expecting a price reduction of at least double that amount. "The market expected a price cut of 20,000 yen," Koya Tabata, a Tokyo-based analyst at Credit Suisse Group told Bloomberg.

He added that because the costs for producing the Cell chip have come down recently Sony could have cut the price by as much as 10,000 yen. The low-end PS3 is still 60 percent higher than the 25,000 yen price tag for the Wii.

According to Famitsu publisher Enterbrain, Nintendo's Wii outsold the PS3 in September well over two-to-one in Japan. The Wii sold 168,220 for the month while the PS3 sold 66,444 units.

Sony is maintaining its shipment target of 11 million PS3s worldwide by the end of its fiscal year on March 31, 2008.