As a long time fan of video games, it never ceases to amaze me that console manufacturers take gamers for granted and doubt our intelligence. Why else would they overcharge us for the systems that we love so dearly? The news is out that Sony is introducing a new version of the Playstation 3, called the Playstation Slim. Due to be released in North America on August 25th, the newest console will. reportedly, retail for $299. Featuring all the functionality of the bigger version, the Slim not only comes with a drastically reduced price tag but an increased 120 GB hard drive as well. To counter the new Sony offer Microsoft has just announced a price drop on the Xbox elite to, you guessed it, $299.

Coming on the heels of news that the Playstation 3 is being outsold by the older PS2, in NEW sales, and with with monthly sales for the industry down over last year, the Slim is Sony’s attempt to regain lost market share due to their unfortunate greed. The cost of the Slim is on par with the xbox 360 pro and only $50 more than the Wii, making the playstation affordable for most gamers. Though Microsoft has followed suit with a price drop of their own, you don’t feel the same desperation from them that you do from Sony. And Sony’s marketing genius continues with the soon to be released PSP Go. With a price tag of around $249 the Go is cheaper to make (it has no umd drive) but is more expensive than the PSP 3000. As long as Sony continues to screw their customers they will remain in last place among video game console manufacturers. At least for now their excellent game system is affordable.

My question for Sony and Microsoft is that since they can produce a Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 console with all the same features and a bigger hard drive for less money, why have they been overcharging their customers for so long? Can you say, “Wii”, anyone, anyone?

Buy Playstation Slim Now!