It's official: PlayStation 3 price drops to $299

by Randy Nelson on Aug 18th 2009 1:40PM

As foreshadowed by retailers and called for by analysts (it's pretty nice for us lowly consumers, too), Sony has officially cut the US retail price of the PlayStation 3 by $100, effective ~~tomorrow~~ immediately. This new pricing affects all PS3 systems currently in the retail stream, and will carry over to the just-announced PS3 Slim.

So, now that it's finally happened, the waiting game to see just how much the drop actually helps PS3 sales begins. Take our poll below if you've been sitting on the fence, waiting for Sony to lighten the load on your wallet.

Will PS3's new $299 price entice you to buy one?
Yes	6830 (37.9%)
No	3255 (18.1%)
I already own a PS3	6804 (37.8%)
I'm a fanboy who can't see past my irrational hatred	1113 (6.2%)

Tags: finally, gamescom-2009, price-cut, price-drop, sony

Reader Comments (159)

It's about time Sony. This won't make me buy one as your online service is free and weak. I does amaze me that people actually waited years for it to hit $299 before they would buy it. It's $100 bucks people! What's the big deal? Think of all the years of B grade titles you didn't get to play until now.

No purchase for me.

Too many games coming for the 360......lost planet 2, bad company 2, mass effect 2, alan wake, dante's inferno, borderlands, brutal legend, batman, rage, halo: odst, halo: fall of reach, and like 10 others b4 june of 2010. Then after that, will be looking to GOW3 and the next thing from Bungie.

That is a lot of games....good thing I just changed jobs for LOTS more money.

Don't worry, you're not the only one. I'm sure I'll be down-voted, too, and won't care one bit. Glad to hear someone else voting with their wallet.

I was excited about the $300 price tag and considered getting one, but then I began to factor in that getting a PS3 system alone equates to 5 new games I could be getting on the Xbox 360, and with the great holiday lineup, that sounds like a very enticing option. Considering God of War 3 is the only exclusive I'm really hyped for in the near future, it doesn't seem like a good option for me. In conclusion, $300 is a great price for a great system, but I don't think it's low enough yet to convince people to buy a second next-gen console.

For those who don't know, Ryan (I can only assume it's the same person) has been spreading the same lie for years.

He is an Xbox fanboy and has no intention of ever buying a PS3, but he likes to pretend his "reluctance" to buy one is because it's just not quite a good enough deal.

If you don't want one, don't get one, but stop with the trollish behavior.

Um. I think you're confusing me with someone else. It's a pretty common name and I can see where the miscommunication occurred. If you check my profile, you'll see that I've never said anything inflammatory, am not a fanboy, and have only been posting on Joystiq for a few months (not "spreading the same lie for years"). Sorry for the confusion. Peace to all Joystiqers!

Shame to see the current design go. I absolutely love the way it looks, especially at the very top of all your home theater components.

The only other thing I'd keep my eyes on if I were a new buyer is the noise level. The current model is nearly silent. Will they be able to pull that off in a smaller unit? We'll see.

It's had a price cut every year, so you really couldn't have avoided that fate. And it will continue to drop in price in the future.

You thought it was worth the price at the time; be happy.