Sony cuts price of its popular PlayStation 3

August 16, 2011 at 5:16p.m.

NEW YORK (AP) — Sony Corp. is cutting the price of its PlayStation 3 gaming console by $50 in an attempt to drum up demand for the 5-year-old machine.

It is now $249, down 17 percent from $299. The last time Sony lowered the price of the PlayStation 3 was in 2009, when it launched a lighter, slimmer model of the video game system.

The worldwide price cut announced today comes less than a month after rival Nintendo Co. cut the price of its handheld Nintendo 3DS player.

The 3DS lets players view 3-D games and videos without special glasses. It launched with much fanfare but lost sales momentum. The value of 3-D hasn't been apparent to everyone. Handheld gaming devices are also facing competition from the iPhone and other smartphones with games such as the wildly popular "Angry Birds."

The latest price cut should give the PlayStation 3 a boost, just as the previous one did in 2009.