Sony Launches Sub-$500 Blu-ray Player, Not Named PS3

Sony's move is intended to strengthen Sony's Blu-ray disc format, but juts awkwardly against its PlayStation 3 marketing.

Sony has announced a pre-emptive $100 price cut on its newly-released Blu-ray disc player, bringing the cost of the BDP-S300 down to $499.

Sony officials attributed the move to lower costs of production and greater demand, but Blu-ray's rival platform, HD DVD, is available for less than $300.

The price cut may also be intended to shore up the market position of PlayStation 3, which features a Blu-ray disc player - but at the same time, consumers who have been buying the system mainly for that capability would likely now eschew its noise and extra cost in favor of the BDP-S300.

Neither Blu-ray nor HD DVD have yet garnered decisive support among technology consumers, though the latter has taken the lead when it comes to standalone players.