Call it an act of desperation or a smart move befitting of the wiliest of business foxes, but Sony, after months of speculation and doom-saying, has slashed the price of the Playstation 3 by $100.

The price cut is effective immediately and brings the cost of the 60GB model down to $499 – i.e. within spitting distance of the fully-loaded Xbox 360. Game on! Sony has also revealed price details of the much-discussed 80GB model, which is to be released in the USA this August for $599, bundled with a copy of MotorStorm.

"The introduction of the 80GB PS3, the new pricing for the current 60GB model, the availability of more than 100 new software titles this fiscal year and, finally, the expansion of services for PlayStation Network, will provide even more options for users and will help bring new consumers into the PS3 fold." says Sony US’s President, Jack Tretton, fingers and toes crossed and a sprig of lucky heather gripped firmly between his teeth.

We don’t doubt that this new price point will help shift a few more boxes either, but you have to wonder if this is too little too late from Sony. Nintendo and Microsoft have a commanding lead on the market in terms of price, their installed user bases and software availability which leaves Sony with a tremendous amount of catching up to do. Put another way, it might take more than a $100 off the top and the promise of 120+ new titles in the pipeline (apparently) to do it. And Sony has yet to announce such a market-enlivening price cut outside of the States too.

Either way, it’s a move in the right direction and an announcment for European territories must surely be forthcoming soon. Maybe they’ll make such a statement at E3 later this week? Hey, and maybe they’ll magic these 120 games out of the ether too. And then we woke up etc...