Sony has cut the price of its best-selling PlayStation 2 (PS2) by $20 in the US. The price drop was widely expected, coming ahead of the planned November launch of Sony’s new PlayStation 3. The PS2 will now sell in the US for around $130 (£73). However Sony has told us it has no plans to trim the current UK price of £104.99.

“While we continue to innovate and design groundbreaking new products, we remain dedicated to our long-term vision for the PlayStation 2 platform,” said Kaz Hirai, president and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America in a statement.

Sales boostThe PS2 dominates the world of video game consoles. Since its appearance in 2000, Sony has manufactured more than 101 million units globally. The company is gearing up to unleash its successor, the PlayStation 3, with a planned worldwide launch in November.

But Sony is hoping to keep sales of the current console buoyant by trimming the price by $20.

A spokesman for Sony UK said the company had no plans to follow suit in the UK.

He told the BBC News website that the PS2 was “very competitively priced” and Sony preferred to rely on bundles to attract consumers.

To us this seems like yet another ’snub’ to the UK market with gamers constantly being charged higher prices and having to wait longer to get their hands on the latest games and hardware.