Sony Announces PS2 Europe Price Drop

Ahead of the Leipzig Games Convention in Germany this week, officials from Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) have announced that the price of the slimline PlayStation 2 console will be cut by around $25. The PlayStation 2 console will fall in price from €159.99/£104.99 ($194/$199) to €129.99/£94.99 ($168/$180). The cost of memory cards will also fall from €29.95 ($39) to €19.99 ($26). Although relatively trivial, particularly in the UK, where the console's price has only reduced by £10, the price cut further reduces the price of the console below that of the Nintendo DS and PSP portable consoles. With the imminent launch of the PlayStation 3, the PlayStation 2 is clearly now being focused at casual gamers in the territory, with titles such as EyeToy, SingStar and Buzz! continuing to chart highly across Europe. According to SCEE, the price has been made possible due to advances in manufacturing efficiency, together with economies of scale driven by global shipments claimed to now be over 106 million units, significantly ahead of its competitors in the current-gen race. “With this attractive new price point and a vast portfolio of over 2,200 software titles including social gaming blockbusters such as EyeToy, SingStar and Buzz!, we believe there has never been a better time to join the community of PlayStation 2 users,” said David Reeves, president of SCEE. “At this new price point of €129, the market leading PlayStation 2 should remain the computer entertainment system of choice for an even wider and more diverse audience for many years to come.” At the same time, SCEE has also announced a new pink colored version of the console, following similarly hued versions of the Game Boy Advance SP and Nintendo DS. The pink PlayStation 2 will be sold from November 8th in Europe at a price of €159.99/£129.99, bundled with two similarly shaded controllers and memory card. The British version will also be bundled with a version of karaoke game SingStar Pop.