Sony PS3 U.S. Price Cut Is Official

The PlayStation 3 officially gets its second price cut in less than a year.

Announced in October, the new smaller capacity PS3 launches in the U.S. Friday, just in time for the holiday shopping season as Sony aims to better compete against rivals Nintendo and Microsoft.

The new 40GB PS3 comes bundled with Spider-Man 3 on Blu-ray but lacks PS2 playback, additional USB ports, and multi card memory support. It retails for US$399.

"We're pleased to offer the consumer a lower price point without sacrificing the core technology components that make PS3 the most advanced high-definition entertainment system available," said Jack Tretton, president SCEA. "Every PS3 comes with a Blu-ray drive, HDMI output, an integrated Wi-Fi connection, Cell Broadband Engine and a built-in hard-drive."