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PS2 price drops in Japan

And Sony announces third quarter financials

After the somewhat bungled price drop of the PlayStation 2 in this country, Sony is hoping for better things from its initiative in Japan. The cost of the console at retail has been reduced by 2,800 yen from its price on the Internet, to just 35,000 yen, or £199 at current exchange rates. Sony's new Japanese pricing strategy should help bump up sales prior to the release of Microsoft and Nintendo's consoles later this year. The console started life on Japanese shelves in March 2000 at a price set directly by the retailer, generally around 39,800 yen (£225). Sony has just posted its third quarter financials, and the figures are in line with their expectations. Pre-tax profit fell to 133.1bn yen from 165.9bn in the third quarter of 1999, while net profits slipped from 93.6bn to 72.2bn. Revenue rose from 1.92tn to 2.11tn yen. Full year profits are now expected to be as much as 50 percent less than originally projected. This is being blamed mostly on the expense of PlayStation 2 R&D.

Source - press release