Sony officially drops PSX prices in Japan
Following reports that Japanese retailers had unofficially slashed the price of the Sony PSX hybrid media system, the company has now dropped the official RRP of the devices to less than two thirds of the original price.
Following reports that Japanese retailers had unofficially slashed the price of the Sony PSX hybrid media system, the company has now dropped the official RRP of the devices to less than two thirds of the original price.
The company quietly dropped the price of the low-end PSX system, which incorporates a 160Gb hard drive, to 44,800 Yen (333 Euro), while the high-end system, boasting a 250Gb hard drive, will now have an RRP of 59,800 Yen (444 Euro).
These latest drops shave 15,000 Yen (111 Euro) off the low-end system's price tag, and 20,000 Yen (149 Euro) off the high-end one - but when combined with some earlier price drops, which also happened without fanfare a few weeks ago, the cut is even more drastic.
In total, the official recommended retail price of the low-end system has fallen by 29,200 Yen (217 Euro) in the past month, while the high-end model has fallen by a massive 35,200 Yen (261 Euro).
Sales of the PSX in Japan have lagged badly throughout this year, despite a relaunch of the device by the company in early summer, and retailers were already discounting stock heavily when Sony's official price cut came into effect this weekend - with some already offering the device at under that RRP.
The official cut will undoubtedly stimulate sales of PSX in the short term, not least because the hybrid device - which incorporates a PlayStation 2 console, DVD recorder and hard disc video recorder, along with a number of other media features - will now be significantly cheaper than competing DVD recording systems from other manufacturers.
However, it's not clear whether this is an aggressive move by Sony to resuscitate the fortunes of the system - and with it, perhaps, the credibility of the company's drive towards convergence gaming and media devices - or whether the silent nature of the price drop indicates that Sony, too, is keen simply to free up some warehouse space and drop the PSX from its line entirely. Much will be read into how prominently the PSX is featured in Sony's holiday season marketing campaigns in Japan.