Sony halves PS3 dev kit prices to shore up support

Sony today said it would cut the price in half for its PlayStation 3 Reference Tool for developers, bringing the device to $10,250 US. The special, computer-like version of the console is receiving the price cut to encourage development for the game system by smaller development houses where the initial price of the kit might be too high, according to Sony. In tandem with the drop, the PS3 maker has also introduced an improved set of tools to help build code more quickly than in the past. The price cut takes effect immediately across North America as well as Europe and Japan.

The sudden drop reflects both a drop in the cost of the console and an attempt to bolster a surge in PS3 sales triggered by the recent $399, 40GB model by encouraging the development of more titles. A low supply of exclusive titles has often been cited as one of the key factors in the console's poor performance against Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii, each of which has frequently had titles unavailable on any other platform or else the best-performing version of all three new systems.