Sony crank up pressure in console war

Sony are upping the stakes in the console war, with the announcement that the price of PlayStation 2 machines will be slashed in Japan for the second time in six months.

Officials said the official price of a Japanese PS2 would be cut by 15 per cent to 29,800 yen (around £170). The console currently sells for 35,000 yen (£200) - the same market price as in the UK.

The move comes following the launch of the Nintendo GameCube earlier this month, but puts increasing pressure on Microsoft's Xbox, which has yet to launch in Japan. A Sony spokeswoman rejected suggestions that the lower prices were aimed at battling rivals, however, pointing instead to stable production and declining costs.

"The price cut reflects the completion of the ramp-up of PS2 production and favourable progress in cost reductions," she said.

"We want to offer a better price to our customers ahead of a series of new big software titles to be launched in December," she added. "We're not thinking about what's going on with Xbox."