SCEA cuts first party prices
Will Microsoft respond?
Sony is continuing the struggle against firm competition from Microsoft and Nintendo, by cutting the price of its in-house software for PlayStation 2 from $49 to $39. Although Sony cannot dictate the pricing of third party software, larger publishers of software on the console may follow suit. It's too early to suggest whether or not Sony in Europe or Japan might follow suit, but there have been a number of high profile discount campaigns lately, with many PS2 games going for £29.99 at the larger online retailers. If Sony were to officially move to that price point, it would be a tremendous blow for its competition. Nintendo's games come in at between £34.99 and £44.99, whereas Microsoft's are all either £39.99 or £44.99. Having thrown so much money away on reward packs, hardware costs and Xbox Live development, it will take investment to achieve goals like these. Fortunately for Xbox owners, Microsoft has committed a further $2bn to the Xbox over the next five years, and promises that with Xbox 2 "Sony won't have a head-start this time." Related Feature - SCEA cuts prices