Sony Corp. has slashed the cost of the software development kit for the PlayStation 3, hoping to spur game makers into creating titles for its struggling console.
The Japanese company cut the price of the kit in half, to $10,250 US in North America, $11,250 US in Europe and $8,600 US in Japan.
Developers need the kit to design games and other software for the PlayStation 3. Last month, the company also cut the retail price of its console, which is celebrating its first anniversary in November.
Analysts have pegged the success of consoles to third-party titles. While Sony has achieved some success for the PlayStation 3 with its own developed titles, such as Resistance: Fall of Man, third-party hits such as the Grand Theft Auto and Madden series were responsible for the big sales of the PlayStation 2.
In Canada, Sony did not have a single PlayStation 3 title in the top 20 selling video games in October, according to consumer electronics tracking firm NPD Group Canada.
Sony has sold about 5.6 million PlayStation 3 consoles worldwide since its launch a year ago. Rival Nintendo Co. Ltd. has sold about 13.2 million units of its Wii, which launched around the same time. The third competitor in the video game console war, Microsoft Corp., has sold 13.4 million units of its Xbox 360 since the launch two years ago.
Sony said the recent retail price cut is already having an effect, with sales up 192 per cent in the past two weeks. The 80 GB PlayStation 3, which has a Blu-ray DVD player, now sells for $499, down from $599.
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