PlayStation 4 price cut to £300 in the UK in line with Xbox One
Sony has extended the drop in price of its console to the UK and the rest of Europe after announcing similar cuts in Japan, Australia and the US.
Sony on Wednesday slashed the price of its PlayStation 4 console to £300 in the UK, and €350 in Europe.
That's the price for the version with 500GB of storage, but Sony also cut the cost of several special-edition consoles and bundles. The move follows similar price cuts to the console in Japan in September and the US and Australia earlier this month, and brings pricing in line with the PS4's main rival, Microsoft's Xbox One, well in time for Christmas.
Competition in the console market is always fierce at this time of year ahead of the Christmas shopping season. The PS4 was the best selling console in September, GameSpot reported this week, although Microsoft reported "strong momentum" for Xbox One sales.
Price wars benefit consumers who can save money as companies such as Sony and Microsoft attempt to undercut each other. In the gaming market, other factors are at play, too, with many gaming enthusiasts choosing gaming PCs instead of consoles, and more casual players increasingly turning to smartphones and tablets.
The Japanese company believes the lower price will make the PS4 appeal to a wider audience. But in a blog post announcing the change, Sony also appealed to PlayStation 3 owners who haven't upgraded to a newer console, saying it was "good news" if "you haven't made the jump to next-gen".
It's not pleasant for new customers to hear of price cuts for the product they just bought, but not everyone will be disappointed. Some UK retailers already were selling the PS4 for less than Sony's recommended retail price, particularly in bundles.
As for Microsoft, the company claimed August was a great month for Xbox One, with sales increasing by 26 percent over the same month in 2014. It, too, has been packaging its console in bundles in the hope of persuading consumers to part with their money.