Sony announces cheaper PS2 as expected

This morning, Sony has officially reduced the price of the PlayStation 2 to $99.99, confirming rumors that the nine-year old console would finally hit the "sweet spot" in price on April 1.

In Sony's announcement today, the company noted that the PlayStation 2's library of titles will grow to almost 1,900, an impressive total by any metric. The fact that it is still able to grow is especially remarkable when considering the console's proximity to retirement.

John Koller, director of hardware marketing at SCEA, said, "With this new price, we intend to introduce a new generation of consumers -- some of whom weren't even alive when the system was first introduced in 2000."

While this means the vast library of games will remain accessible to the public, (since the PlayStation 3 lacks backward compatibility), the community of PS3 users were less than enthused by this announcement. This was no doubt, thanks to rumor-fueled hopes of a new firmware update or price reduction to Sony's newer console.