Sony fuels further price war

Video gamers in Britain could soon enjoy cheaper software after Sony cut the US price of its own PlayStation 2 titles by 20 per cent.

The move will see the cost of games such as International Superstar Soccer 2 and Ace Combat 4 fall from £34 to £27 in the US.

It puts pressure on rivals Microsoft and Nintendo, as well as other games makers such as Eidos, to follow suit.

Sony suggested similar price cuts could follow in the UK, a move that would be likely to trigger a price war on this side of the Atlantic.

Samantha Loveday, from games trade weekly MCV, said: 'Although it's only happened in the US at the moment, there have been rumours PS2 and software price cuts in the UK for some time.'

The aggressive cut is the third Sony in less than a week. The Japanese firm dropped the UK price of PS1 to £49, and cut the US price of the PlayStation 2 console from £207 to £136.

Microsoft followed suit, reducing its Xbox to £136. Nintendo, whose GameCube lacks the DVD capacity of its rivals, later reduced its console price to £102.