Firing a high-caliber volley in the videogame wars, Sony said Monday that it will drop the retail price of its 32-bit PlayStation game console to US$149 from $199.
On Friday, Sony announced similar price-slashing in Europe - including a 30 percent cut on PlayStation prices in the United Kingdom. The company claims no intention of lowering prices in Japan, where Nintendo sales to date have been sluggish.
Sony's move could strengthen its already-commanding lead in the US videogame-player market. At the end of 1996, Sony controlled nearly half of the market with 3.2 million units installed, compared with 1.7 million Nintendo 64 units and 1.6 million Sega Saturn units.
The price cut will add pressure on Nintendo's glitzy 64-bit system, introduced in the US six months ago - and a full year after the PlayStation's debut. Nintendo said production capacities won't allow a retaliatory price cut until at least April, but it admits price is "the only weapon left" in a battle the PlayStation can't win on game magic alone. Meanwhile, Sony is planning its 64-bit PlayStation 2 to go after Nintendo's grip on the high end of the game-player market.
Nintendo 64 lags Sony in the variety of games ready for its system. But while its 11 titles trail the 200 available for the PlayStation, Nintendo is confident gamers will continue to pay more for superior titles like Super Mario 64 and the upcoming Doom and Starfox.
And with Sega now offering online services for Saturn, and another player on the way - the 64-bit dual-PowerPC console from Matsushita - the game war is far from over.
