Sony has slashed the fees it charges software developers in a bid to get them to develop more games for its PlayStation 3 console.

The company has reportedly halved the cost of its software development kit in an effort to stave off the advance of arch-rival Nintendo.

Nintendo's Wii console is growing in terms of user numbers and games titles, and has outsold the PS3 by a margin of more than two to one.

Nintendo had sold 13.2 million Wii units worldwide by October of this year, compared to 5.6 million PS3 consoles over the same period.

The cost of the Sony development kit for the PS3 has been halved to $10,250 in the US and to €7,500 in Europe. Sony has also promised to enhance technical support to independent developers.

"As more and more new titles are developed for the format, Sony will significantly reduce the price of the reference tool in order to contribute to the cost saving measures of the development community," said a spokesman for the company.

Sony's move is widely seen as an effort to dissuade leading games developers from developing for the Nintendo platform.

Resident Evil developer Capcom announced last month that it would be bringing the latest in its Monster Hunter series to the Wii instead of the PlayStation 3 as initially planned.

Disappointing PS3 sales are also seen as a blow to Sony's built-in Blu-ray DVD player, which the company hopes will lead the charge to become the industry standard high-definition DVD format, beating off the rival HD-DVD.