Sony Cuts PlayStation 3 Price in Japan

Sony(SNE - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) will lower the price of its PlayStation 3 video game console in its home market by more than $100, as the player is set to join the three-company fracas in the holiday season's next-generation battle.

The Associated Press reported early Friday that the Japanese electronics giant will cut the price of its basic PlayStation 3 model in Japan to $410 from an originally planned $515 for its lowest-cost model. That puts the PlayStation 3 in the same range as Microsoft's(MSFT - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) combined basic Xbox 360 and HD DVD player in Japan, where the duo will sell for $427.

The announcement comes just days after Microsoft said it would roll out an external high-definition DVD player for its Xbox 360 in an effort to match the PlayStation 3, which is due to be released later this year with Blu-ray DVD technology.

The price cut affects the basic PlayStation 3 model, which comes with a 20-gigabyte hard drive. Another upscale version of the PlayStation 3 will have a 60-gigabyte hard drive, the AP reported.

Earlier this month, Sony said it would delay the European release by four months until March, but the console will hit stores in Japan on Nov. 11 and in the U.S. on Nov. 17. Sony now expects to ship only 2 million units by year's end instead of 4 million as originally planned.