Sony has unveiled a new widget that allows its struggling PlayStation 3 to receive and record high-definition TV programmes as the technology giant tries to persuade consumers that the device can do more than play video games.

The PlayTV add-on will also be able to transfer recorded TV content to a PSP, Sony’s handheld games console, which is also suffering from lacklustre sales compared to its main rival, Nintendo’s DS.

Separately, Woolworths, the struggling UK retailer, said it would slash the price of the PS3 to £375, its “lowest ever level” in the UK, over the bank holiday weekend.

The move was revealed as Microsoft today dropped the price of its Xbox 360 Core – the most basic version of the console – to £180 in a pre-announced move. The price for the 20 gigabyte hard-drive model of the Xbox 360 has been cut by £30 to £250.

Microsoft’s price cut will still leave Nintendo’s Wii console as the cheapest in the field, at about £180.

This bank holiday is expected to be “massive” for sales of computer games and related paraphernalia, Woolworths said, as parents struggle to occupy children during washout school holidays.

The TV device is part of Sony’s strategy to make the PS3 a home entertainment hub that extends beyond video games - an area also being targeted by Microsoft.

Sony also unveiled add-on devices for the PSP, which transform the device into a satellite-based navigation system and an instant-message machine.

The PS3, a more technologically sophisticated machine, is currently lagging Nintendo’s rival Wii by two-to-one in terms of sales, with the Sony machine’s much higher price being cited as a key factor.

However, Sony executives have for a long time insisted that the PS3’s advanced technology, which includes a powerful custom-designed Cell processor, will outlive that of the more basic Wii, which has won plaudits for its innovative motion sensitive “wand” controller.

Sony said it will launch PlayTV in the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany and Spain early next year, with other European countries to follow.

It did not say how much it will cost.

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