Sony cuts US prices for PlayStation 4 ahead of holiday season

[TOKYO] Sony Corp said it was cutting the price of its PlayStation 4 videogame console to around US$350 from US$400 to boost sales ahead of the year-end holiday season.

Thursday's announcement follows similar price cuts of the console in Asia, including its home market Japan, and adds pressure on rival Microsoft Corp, whose Xbox One system has lagged the PlayStation 4 in global sales.

Videogames, along with sensors, have helped lead a turnaround at Sony which is still struggling with weak smartphone and TV sales.

In July, Sony raised its full-year operating income forecast for its game and network services division to 60 billion yen (US$501.3 million) from a previous 40 billion yen, due to solid PlayStation demand.

Reuters