Sony’s new Blu-ray player, the BDP-S300, had been previously announced at $599. However, Sony is now saying that the player, which ships this week, will street with an MSRP of $499 instead. Blu-ray player prices have been dropping rapidly since the format launched late last year with players $999 and above. The new player has basically the same capabilities as the older BDP-S1, but in a smaller package.
Sony attributes the falling prices to rising demand for Blu-ray products, and falling component prices and production costs. This puts the standalone player on par, price-wise, with the Sony PS3 – the least expensive version of which also sells for $499.
