UPDATE: Wed 12th. Sadly, Paul Gunn, local spokesperson for PlayStation, has confirmed that NZ will not follow suit with a price drop. Gunn says the US price drop is to make way for the introduction of the 80GB PlayStation and no decision has been made as to whether the 80GB model will be released here or not.

Sony's US entertainment arm has cut the price of the PlayStation 3 by US$100 to boost flagging sales.

The PS3 price cut, effective today, reduces the 60GB console to US$499 from the US$599 price tag that has been in place since the console's November 2006 launch. The price drop, which was the subject of heavy rumour-mongering late last week, was anticipated primarily because of slow sales - blamed in part on the console's higher price tag compared with rival products. Nintendo, for example, sells its Wii for US$249, while Microsoft's Xbox 360 retails for US$299 and up.

At the same time, Sony also announced that starting next month, it will sell a new 80GB PS3 console in the US for US$599, and bundle a free copy of the MotorStorm game with the box. Currently, the 80GB model is sold only in South Korea.

According to statistics from research firm NPD Group, PS3 sales have consistently lagged those of its two main rivals. Through May, NPD estimated total sales of the PS3 in the US at 1.4 million consoles, compared with 5.6 million Xbox 360s and 2.8 million Nintendo Wiis. (Microsoft, however, had a one-year jump on the competition; it launched the Xbox 360 in the fall of 2005.)