Sony cuts price of PS3 consoles

By Daniel Emery Technology reporter, BBC News, Cologne

Sony computer entertainment president, Europe Andy House explains why the media giant has made the move

Sony Entertainment has announced it is reducing the price of its PlayStation 3 games consoles.

In Europe the price has been lowered to 299 euros, in the US to $299 and in the UK to £249.99.

Sony made the announcement at a press conference ahead of the 2009 games convention - Games Com - in Cologne.

It also announced it was ending production of its current PlayStation 3 console in favour of a new lighter, slimmer model with a 120GB hard drive.

Growth of the PlayStation 3 has been slow compared to previous launches, which critics put down, in part, to an expensive price tag compared with its rivals, Microsoft's Xbox 360 at £149 and the Nintendo Wii at £169.