Average Rating: Rate this article:

Sony Reduces Price of PlayStation 2 Console By Walaika K. Haskins April 21, 2006 11:50AM Whether it is to make room for the PS3 or to attract new users, said Frost & Sullivan analyst Mukul Krishna, Sony had to do something immediately following the surprise delay of the PS3, which had originally been scheduled for release during the spring of 2006.   Related Topics Sony PlayStation Microsoft Xbox Nintendo Revolution Latest News Autism Risk for Kids of Older Mothers Go Online and You Can Save the Planet In Haiti, Relief Gaps Are Spreading U.S. To Form Climate-Change Agency U.S. Losing in Clean-Tech Innovation Gamers waiting for Sony to drop the price on its PlayStation 2 (PS2) game console are in luck. On Thursday, Sony announced that it has slashed the console's price by $20, from $149 to $129. Kaz Hirai, president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America, said that although Sony continues to "design groundbreaking new products," the company also is committed to its "long-term vision for the PlayStation 2 platform." The price change was not unexpected. Gaming experts had predicted that Sony would cut prices on the PS2 before releasing its much-anticipated, next-generation console, the PlayStation 3 (PS3), in November. The price reduction comes roughly one month after the console maker reduced the price of the Sony PlayStation Portable handheld device. Gaming Champion The PS2 is the undisputed 800-pound gorilla of the gaming-console market. Since its release in the fall of 2000, more than 100 million PS2 units have been sold around the world. According to the NPD Group, the PlayStation 2 leads other consoles in the U.S. with some 55 percent share of the market. Mukul Krishna, an analyst with research firm Frost & Sullivan, said the PS2 price cut might simply represent a desire to clear out old inventory. "Since they are close to the PS3 launch, giving a price cut or discount on the system will help them get rid of as much inventory as they can," he said. Krishna also said that, whether it is to make room for the PS3 or to attract new users, Sony had to do something immediately following the surprise delay of the PS3, which had originally been scheduled for release during the spring of 2006. Xbox 360 Pressure The pressure on Sony, already high in light of Microsoft 's launch of the Xbox 360 last fall, increased significantly when the company pushed the PS3's release date back to nearly one year after the Xbox release. Setting aside inventory issues, Krishna said, Sony is making things more competitive until it comes out with its next-generation console. Inventory issues or not, Sony appears to be standing behind the PlayStation 2 as a platform. "Now even more consumers, as well as casual gamers, can experience what the PlayStation 2 platform has to offer ... at a new value price," Hirai said.   Tell Us What You Think Your Comment: Also Visit: iPad Info Center Billions of Bytes Mobile Device Now Apple Info Center TopTechWire.com Advertisement  Computing 1.   MS: Windows 7 Doesn't Hurt Battery 2.   Tips for More Windows 7 Productivity 3.   The Pros and Cons of Apple's iPad 4.   IBM Power7 Server Takes on Big Load 5.   China Cyberattacks: Pervasive Threat EPIC Objects To Google-NSA Ties Cyberattack meant to rattle Google? Average Rating: Symbian 3 Is Now Fully Open Source But mobile OS remains linked to Nokia. Average Rating: Google Attack Highlights Black Market Paying for bug info is hotly debated. Average Rating:

Enterprise Hardware Spotlight

Microsoft Says Battery Woes Not Caused By Windows 7 Battery problems on Windows 7 machines are not caused by the operating system. That's the position of Stephen Sinofsky, head of the Windows division, in a long posting on the Windows engineering blog.   IBM's New POWER7 Servers Save Energy with Big Loads IBM has unveiled high-capacity servers that are the first to be based on its new, multi-core POWER7 chip. It said the new line is designed "to manage the most demanding emerging applications."   'Dead Simple, Dirt Cheap' JooJoo Tablet Shipping Soon The JooJoo, a web-browsing tablet device that is the subject of a high-profile legal dispute, appears on track to reach buyers at the end of February, but the tablet scene has dramatically changed.

Enterprise Technology Spotlight

Google May Add Facebook, Twitter Links to Gmail Google will reportedly roll more social-networking features into Gmail, the fastest-growing e-mail service. The new features could save users the trouble of switching to Facebook or Twitter.   IBM's New POWER7 Servers Save Energy with Big Loads IBM has unveiled high-capacity servers that are the first to be based on its new, multi-core POWER7 chip. It said the new line is designed "to manage the most demanding emerging applications."   IBM Opens Eco-Friendly, Cloud-Focused Data Center IBM has opened its latest data center in North Carolina. Big Blue said the $362 million facility in Research Triangle Park is designed to support cloud computing and other new computing models.

Navigation Sci-Tech Today Home/Top News | Computing | Digital Life | Discovery | Space | Innovation | Health | Science News Environment NewsFactor Network Enterprise I.T. Sites NewsFactor Technology News | Enterprise Security Today | CRM Daily NewsFactor Business and Innovation Sites Sci-Tech Today | NewsFactor Business Report NewsFactor Services FreeNewsFeed | Free Newsletters | Free Whitepapers | About NewsFactor Network | How To Contact Us | Article Reprints | Careers @ NewsFactor | Services for PR Pros | Top Tech Wire | How To Advertise Privacy Policy | Terms of Service © Copyright 2000-2010 NewsFactor Network. All rights reserved. Article rating technology by Blogowogo.