Sony has confirmed that the, surprising, PS3 price drop announced last night for the Japanese launch will not affect the console's price for the US and European launches.
During his keynote address at the Tokyo Game Show, Sony Computer Entertainment President, Ken Kutaragi, announced that the new PS3 price 49,980 yen (USD 429 / EUR 335 / GBP 225). This brings the price of the Japanese 20 GB PS3 to 70 USD under that of its U.S. counterpart while the same European console will be over 85 Euro more expensive.
This price cut seems to be a reaction to a very negative reaction to the console by Japanese consumers and retailers. It seems the U.S. market has not concerned SCEA enough to announce a price cut. The Tokyo Game Show also had some good news for PS3 fans as it was confirmed that both the 20GB (USD 499) and the 60GB (USD 599) PS3's will feature an HDMI slot.
