Sony

, in a bid to gain some market leverage for the holiday season, follows in the footsteps of Microsoft, and this lad on YouTube, and takes a sledgehammer to PS3 pricing.

Following Microsoft's price drop (systems now go for $350 with a 20GB hard drive), and surely taking clear note of Nintendo's lead as the analyst's Holiday favorite - Sony has taken a sledgehammer to the PS3 pricepoint finally announcing the expected price-drop for their PlayStation 3 system coinciding with the announcement of yet another SKU for a 40GB PS3 model!

You may recall the 60GB model was recently cancelled in lieu of the 80Gb offering and the 40GB model is no doubt Sony's response to finding the best pricepoint vs hardware offering to fill that gap.

The 40GB model, weighing in at a reasonable $399, contains all the features of it's 80GB big brother, now priced at $499(!!), minus the backwards compatibility - the value of which is questionable anyway.  As much as we gamers like to demand it - how many PS2 titles have you loaded into your PS3 lately? Releazing that this may rankle a few consumers out there Sony has seen fit to pack-in a copy of Spider-Man 3 on Blu-Ray to sweeten the deal."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. Every PS3 comes with a Blu-ray drive, HDMI output, an integrated Wi-Fi connection, Cell Broadband Engine and a built-in hard-drive," said Jack Tretton, President and CEO, SCEA.

This is an excellent move on Sony's part to improve their standing in the build-up to the Holiday shopping season - in which price will no doubt play a role for console seeking consumers.  And with third-party titles finally stacking up for the platform including:  Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - among others - the PS3 value proposition is looking brighter than ever.