No European Price Cut

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Sony is not cutting the price of the PlayStation 3 in Europe, but will offer free games and accessories instead.

There is also no word of plans for an 80GB version of the console in Europe.

Last week Sony said it would drop the US price of the 60GB PS3 by $100 (£50), and introduced a new 80GB version at the original price of $599 (£300).

In Europe gamers will get a "starter pack" at an unchanged price of £425 for the 60GB machine, with two games and two controllers included.

The new pack was announced at the E3 games conference in Santa Monica, in California. Sony says it is offering gamers £115 worth of added games and controller, for no extra charge.

But the firm could face criticism from gamers for deciding not to reduce the price of the 60GB PS3 and not announcing the 80GB machine.

Earlier this week, Jack Tretton, chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment America, said he thought the US price cut would at least "double" the sales of PS3 in the country.

In the UK, the PlayStation 3 remains £125 more expensive than the equivalent Xbox 360 bundle of console and games and £225 more expensive than the Nintendo Wii with two games.

Source

This is no different than some of the 360 bundles found in retail stores or wholesalers [Sam's Club, Costco]. I'm betting most people would rather have a lower introductory price than bundled games that they may or may not care for.

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