Gamertell

The time to pick up a PlayStation 2 is soon. Very soon. Or perhaps pick up a backup PS2. It’s up to you really. Sony’s big announcement today was that the price of the PS2 unit is going to go from $129.99 to $99. The new, lower price will go into effect on April 1, 2009. Despite the unusual choice of date, this is not some cruel and elaborate April Fool’s joke.

Joystiq followed up with Sony to ask if this would truly be a global price drop. The answer it received was a resounding not quite. PS2s price will drop to €99 throughout Europe, excluding the UK.

The PlayStation.Blog announcement boasts about the console’s long lifespan, extensive game library and 250 budget priced, “Greatest Hits” games. It also makes a brief mention of the fact that there have been 50 million PS2s sold in North America.

Kotaku and Joystiq were speculating earlier that the big announcement would be a price drop on the PS2s. This speculation was given some credence after images from Kmart were discovered showing a PS2 costing $99.

It’s a good decision on Sony’s part. The PS3 and PSP never really performed the way the company expected and haven’t come close to receiving the widespread love and acceptance that the PS2 has. And, with people being more critical about big purchases, a successful and cheap PS2 with a large library of games under $19.99 is a good entertainment option.

Read [PlayStation.Blog] Also Read [Kotaku] Also Read [Joystiq] Site [PlayStation.com]