PlayTV reduced to A$149.95 Down Under

Sony Computer Entertainment Australia (SCEA) has today announced the first price reduction for its PlayStation 3 personal video recording (PVR) add-on, PlayTV, which has been on sale for 11 months now. Dropping by A$20, PlayTV will now sell for A$149.95 ($147), effective today. Previously it sold for A$169.95 ($167).

Sony launched PlayTV for the PS3 in Australia late last year with many pundits questioning whether a TV tuner for the PS3 would sell. Eleven months later and SCEA is firing back, announcing the first batch of hardware sales for PlayTV, coming in at over 100,000 units sold in just under a year in Australia.

PlayTV works by plugging an antenna cable into a small TV tuner box that then connects to the PS3 via USB. From there users are required to install the PlayTV software onto their PS3, which will then allow them to watch and record free-to-air TV on their console.

At this year's Games Convention in Cologne, Germany, Sony announced the fist major revision to the PlayTV software. The update will make the service more social, adding in text chat, Facebook integration, and a new recommendation system. Unfortunately, the update won't be free when it launches at the end of the month, although Sony declined to comment when approached by GameSpot AU about how much it would cost.

Countering PlayTV, Microsoft has teamed up with cable TV provider Foxtel to stream subscription TV onto Xbox 360s. Unlike Sony’s PVR add-on, Foxtel on the Xbox 360 is limited to metropolitan areas around the country. Not only does this move add fuel to the rivalry between consoles, but it also sees the subscription TV vs. free-to-air TV duel move onto a new battlefront: consoles.