Console pricing madness ahoy!

How do you like the PS3 Slim? Or rather, how do you like the PS3 Slim at its slender new price of £249.99?

That’s a big saving off the previous RRP, particularly if you factor in the larger 120GB hard drive that the new unit sports – the old PlayStation 3 ‘Fat’ only kept 80GB under its bonnet. Not that such things seem to bother the console-buying public, who are snapping up old stock quite literally as if it was going out of fashion. But will the new model and its attractive price point be enough to revive PS3 sales and return Sony’s machine to its former pile-topping glory?

We guess that depends. In any case, if the current rumours are to be believed, Microsoft may yet have a price cut of its own to announce – the wires are buzzing and at least one esteemed games analyst claims that Microsoft will announce a sub-£200 price point for the 120GB Xbox 360 ‘Elite’ within the next seven days. That would certainly restore the price-gap between the two consoles, not to mention re-ignite the long-running battle for market-share.

In contrast to all the above, we’re picking up mutterings to the effect that Wii pricing may actually be on the verge of increasing. This would appear to be a retail-lead initiative relating to upward fluctuations in the trade price they pay – blame the weak Pound for that. If the rumblings come to fruition – and we dearly hope they don’t – we could be looking at a £200 Wii before too long. How would you like the taste of those apples?

And then there’s the new PSP Go. It’s a powerful, good-looking handheld by any measure, but at £224.99 it’s not only facing off against a 16GB Ipod Touch but is entering the realm of the PS3 and is already up there with the current RRP for the Elite.  And yet Sony is “confident” that it’ll succeed at that price – perhaps the free copy of Gran Turismo PSP will sweeten the deal.

So, assuming all prices fall into place as previously described and that you have £200 or so burning a console-shaped hole in your pocket, how are you going to spend it?  Hmmm, tough choice...