Sony Blu-ray player drops to $500, now cheaper than PS3
The Sony BDP-S300 Blu-ray player has been dropped $100 in price to $499, putting it below the price of the PlayStation 3.
Sony, who once touted the PS3 as the cheapest Blu-ray player on the market, has appeared to have crossed off its own talking point. But if priced the same, the BDP-S300 would be a tough sale against the game console, whose only apparent benefit is quieter hardware.
We don't want to suggest the PS3, now with only one model in North America, may drop below the $600 threshold, but the Blu-ray player's reduced price may indicate that the manufacturing costs for Blu-ray components have lowered, making the console less of a loss leader for Sony.
The High Definition disc format is still competing against the Toshiba-backed HD-DVD for market share. The cheapest standalone HD-DVD player still costs $100 ($200 this Father's Day) less than the BDP-S300.
[Via Engadget; thanks, Jonah]
