Sony drop PS3 price by 20% and include HDMI 1.3
Finally, some good news from Sony. They just announced today that they are cutting the launch price of the 20GB version of the PS3 in Japan by about 20% to ¥49,980. They have stated so far that this is a Japan only price drop and the US and Europe pricing remains unchanged.
Not only that but the 20GB, lower-end version of the PS3 now includes an HDMI 1.3 output (the latest spec), which was the other major sticking point that so many people were unhappy about.
So what does all this mean? Well, I think it absolutely proves Sony's strategy was wrong on the PS3 from the beginning by making it so expensive relative to the Xbox 360 and Wii and not including an HDMI output on the low-end model to enjoy all of the much-hyped Blu-ray content in full-on 1080p digital clarity.
I think Sony must have realised what a mess they'd made and, fair play to them, have corrected the mistake before launch. They are probably petrified about the competition from the much cheaper Wii in Japan specifically and the Xbox 360 with HD-DVD add on in the US and Europe. They had to do something and in fairness this does seem like a good move.
I think it certainly makes the 20GB much more attractive and it now begs the question of why you really need the more expensive 60GB version, just for the sake of WiFi, a larger hard drive and a memory card reader?
The next-gen console wars aren't over yet.
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