LOS ANGELES (CNN/Money) -
Sony Corp. is finally cutting the price for its popular PlayStation 2 to $149 from $179 after seeing its popular video game console slip to second place for the first time in 45 months in April.
The announcement follows Microsoft's decision in March to cut the price of its Xbox console, also to $149.99.
Sony's move is meant to ensure that Xbox's ascendance in the monthly sales rankings doesn't become the norm.
The cuts apply to both standalone PlayStation 2 and the popular combination pack, which includes an adaptor for online play and the game "ATV Fury 2." The combination pack previously sold for $199.
Despite dropping a notch in the sales charts last month, the PS2 is by far the world's best selling video game machine. Sony has sold more than 71.3 million PS2s worldwide, compared to 13.7 million Xboxes and 13.9 million Nintendo GameCubes.
Industry observers have been waiting for Sony to match or exceed the Microsoft (MSFT: Research, Estimates) price reductions, though many had speculated Sony would not act until later this year.
But Xbox sales topped PS2 sales in April. The company does not like being perceived as anything other than a market leader, say analysts, which might have contributed to the decision to cut now.
Sony (SNE: Research, Estimates) last cut the PS2 prices last May to $179.99 from $199.99. It also introduced the online bundle for $199.99. This bundle has been the product many retailers have chosen to promote most heavily.
While it remains the industry leader, Sony has been feeling the pinch from not lowering PS2 prices earlier.
U.S. sales of the machine sank 37 percent last year, a much bigger drop than most industry analysts were expecting. In late April the company forecast shipments for the current fiscal year would fall another 30 percent.
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