Sony slashes price of PlayStation-enabled Tablet S

By Fred Dutton Published 3 January, 2012

Knocks $100 off price three months after launch.

Sony has slashed the price of its PlayStation-branded Tablet S in the US just three months after the device launched.

As reported by GamesIndustry.biz, the 32GB model is now selling for $500 on Sony's online store, down from $600, while the 16GB version has been reduced from $500 to $400.

Sony is yet to confirm if the new prices are permanent.

The Android 3.0 powered device features a 9.4 inch touch screen, Nvidia Tegra 2 graphics chip and is able to download and play games from the PlayStation Store via the PlayStation Suite system also used by PlayStation Vita and Xperia Play.

For more on the device, see Digital Foundry's Tablet S spec analysis.

Picture of Fred.

About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

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Comments (30) Latest comment 5 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • SonOfGoku #1 5 months ago

    Sony have also announced that they will still support it going on record to say it will be supported by the new ice cream sandwich update to android...sounds like a good time to nab one slightly cheaper now....

  • syra #2 5 months ago

    Sounds like an overpriced piece of crap. Still.

  • Sid-Nice #3 5 months ago

    You can pick an original Moses Tablet cheaper on E-Bay.

  • geox30 #4 5 months ago

    I too believe that Tegra 2 devices are overpriced even at 400.At this price you can safely bet with the Asus Transformer,which is more versatile.

  • madgerald Verified Studio Head of PR & Marketing, Colossal Games LTD #5 5 months ago

    Worth noting that you can use the PS3 controller on the Tablet S. Not sure if it works with the OnLive app though. If it does, it'd be a neat little tablet for gaming.

  • Razz #6 5 months ago

    Old news, is old

  • deez #7 5 months ago

    @madgerald Not sure that feature is particularly uncommon though, certainly can use a dual shock on my phone.

  • timewarp87 #8 5 months ago

    Get this with a ps3 control pad and then get gta 3 - its the best way to play the droid version

  • deez #9 5 months ago

    @timewarp87 !! It's also an insanely expensive way to play a 10 year old game.

  • Ryze #10 5 months ago

    ^ Exactly.

    Sony - you can't compete in this manner, crapping out half hearted products with no unique selling point or killer apps.

    MAKE A PS VITA VERSION OF THIS TABLET WITH A FULL SET OF CONTROLS. It would be like a 'proper' version of a Wii U, and would steal their thunder.

    Fuck me. Get on with it! There's £350-£400 waiting if you can do this properly. Also make sure that it can play DLNA video, PS minis, PS one games, PSP games...

    Make sure it integrates properly with all of the other crap you keep shitting out. Update the PS3 firmware to enable content 'throwing' from tablet to TV via the PS3 or smart Bravia TV sets.

    Consider a MARKETING strategy, and some decent launch CONTENT to sell and promote.

  • Subdominator #11 5 months ago

    All those manufa“cturers of tablets are pretty damn stupid if they think they can get a piece of the market by offering one of those things at the price Apple does. It is well known by now that the iPad costs about 250 $ to produce, the rest is pure profit for Apple. apple can do that, because their customers have accepted a long time ago to pay double the usual price for Apple products. But the competition will all fail unless they go down to the standard profit margins in the industry, which means 2 to 5 % (and not Apple's 50 %). They can be successful and hurt Apple at prices around 300 $. But they are just too greedy an think they can cash in on the hype. Which obviously they can't.

  • smelly #12 5 months ago

    @ryze - yeah, thats what sony needs to do.. copy nintendo even more... and have even less of their own ideas...

  • Ryze #13 5 months ago

    @timewarp87

    Or just play the Xbox version on the 360, as it's better, and will cost prob £3 on eBay.

  • Dizzy #14 5 months ago

    Still 399 too expensive.

  • jacksback21 #15 5 months ago

    This price drop has already existed for a month in Europe. There was a £50 drop at the end of November here. American's are getting the price drop much later it seems. So not really news when it comes to this side of the pond.

  • TAPNGO #16 5 months ago

    why do people just make up there own facts knowing its bs.

    http://www.chron.com/business/technology/article/Analysis-Apple-s-iPad-2-price-hurts-rivals-1684816.php

  • potatoes #17 5 months ago

    @Subdominator It's a lovely theory and all, but rather than actually knowing what you are talking about you have taken a leap on a subject you have no facts on and presented it like you are an expert.

    Honestly, what makes a person do that? It does my head right in and spreads so much misinformation that it becomes impossible to tell genuine insight from tit trying to feel important.

    // end rant

  • mossychops001 #18 5 months ago

    Post deleted at 11:49:27 04-05-2012

  • Beastlove #19 5 months ago

    The pad domain will be dominated by amazon and apple, both have a huge amount of content behind them and an existing user base with the kindle and iPad. Sony have released a product at the same pricing point of the iPad without the kudos. Somy should look at the kindle fire and adapt that for games

  • alcides #20 5 months ago

    It was dead on arrival. I wonder why they even bothered. That, the other foldable one and the Xperia phones were mere jokes.

    And to think Sony has a firm foot in the phone industry. THEY should have come up with the iPhone (but then they should have come up with the iPod too...)

  • Spuzzell #21 5 months ago

    Slightly cheaper but still massively overpriced meh is meh.

    Put THAT on a t-shirt.

  • Snake_2011 #22 5 months ago

    starting to think people think they can have stuff for next to nothing these days.

    PS Vita great example great price for what you get but everyone whines it is to much.
    Edited by Snake_2011 at 04/01/12 @ 02:13

  • INSOMANiAC #23 5 months ago

    No snake_2011, Sony should be starting to think that slapping a Sony badge on something and making it play PSone games doesnt make it a premium price product. You'd think they'd have learnt their lesson from the TV market where they are getting shafted by companies with similar products at far cheaper prices, such as LG.

    The days of Sony putting a latin sounding name on something generic and charging an extra 200 quid are long gone and only Sony don't realise it.

  • Snake_2011 #24 5 months ago

    INSOMANiAC it is no more than the others out there so not sure what your point is.

    the Playstation suite is going to have more than just PS1 games by the end of the year I think it will be a great service. imo the Vita is a great price if you can not see that I would say you have beef with the name Sony.

    LG cheap not really http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/mobiles/mobile-phones/LG-OPTIMUS-PAD/HANDSET
    Edited by Snake_2011 at 04/01/12 @ 03:21

  • Casserole #25 5 months ago

    The tablet market is just too saturated, and there isn't that much of a difference since they all have Android on them (bar the iPad). I like ryze's idea, anything to diversify away from "Android on a touchscreen". Is Windows Metro going to be on tablets soon?

  • Whitster #26 5 months ago

    @Snake_2011 I'll believe that when I see it, I've had an Xperia play for four months now and in that time the PSsuite hasn't grown once from its launch titles.

  • varsas #27 5 months ago

    Having played with one recently I was quite impressed. I own a Galaxy Tab 8.9 that I love but if I wanted an alternative then this would probably be it. The design is excellent and the modified version of Android is quite nice and there are the Sony only/specific services that are included that I think are decent.

  • Arwin #28 5 months ago

    I think it's pretty good, and at 333 euro (which I saw it for last week) it's getting a decent price range. However, more interesting will be whether or not it gets an Android 4.0 upgrade. I think from Android 4.0 upgrades onwards Android tablets like this one will start to make a lot of sense.

  • Jos #29 5 months ago

    It's a lovely tablet but I went with an Ipad over it because it felt a touch plasticy and as I am primerely using it to demo photograhpy to potential clients it needed to feel reasuringly professional.

    The screen on the Tablet S was brilliant though - just better than the Ipad I thought.

  • AceGrace #30 5 months ago

    I picked up one of these over christmas in a sale in Currys. Played Crash bandicoot in the shop. The screen is luvverly.

    Haven't turned mine on yet though as I ordered a case with screen protector. Today only the case turned up! :-(

    My wife has a blackberry playbook and it certainly demonstrates how useful they are when the wife is watching location/ready steady/property ladder. :-)