Sony to cut the price of the Playstation 3?

There is no denying that the Playstation 3, software wise, has had a great year. Resistance 2, Motorstorm 2, Metal Gear Solid 4 and LittleBigPlanet to mention a few. Though on the hardware front, apart from the first few months, it hasn’t been the year many thought it could be. Nintendo Wii dominated PS3 in every region; Xbox 360 did the unthinkable and outsold it in Japan for up to 2 months and in the US and Europe for most of the year. But why isn’t it selling? Is it the games? Hell no, PS3 has had some great games this year so it’s not that. Is it the brand name? Hell no, again. Playstation is one of the most recognized brand names in gaming, so what could it be? Well the answer to that question boils down to one thing and one thing only, the price.

With the Nintendo Wii having a low price point already, and with the 360 having price cuts in all regions, the PS3 hasn’t been able to keep up with hardware sales across. With the economy the way it is at the moment, many consumers are going for the cheaper options. Sony needs to act and they need to act fast if they have any hope in keeping up with competitors. The good news is there is some evidence (however small) that they might be in the preparation stages right now. A poster on NeoGAF took a picture of a shop poster with the Sony Playstation 3 80GB selling for 299 EU. This same deal has been spotted all around Europe. Could there be an unofficial price cut in Europe? Many other websites are carrying this rumor but we need to look at this from a wider perspective.

Sony have stated in the past that there will not be a price cut on the PS3 for sometime. David Reeves stated “No, we are not going to go down in price on PS3 – neither are we going to go down in price on PS3 in spring time either. Absolutely not, whatever you might have heard to the contrary. Our strategy is very much value added.” This isn’t the first time Sony have denied these rumors. A Sony spokesman said, “There are no plans for a price reduction on PS3 in March 2009, and anything reported on or discussed otherwise is purely rumor or speculation.” Typical PR bull, really. So, what are we looking at here? TGR thinks that this is nothing but shops cutting the price down to get some extra business during the Christmas holidays, but with the economy the way it is and Xbox 360 and Wii outselling every month it wont be long until Sony get their heads in gear and drop the price to compete with the rest.

At this time there’s no drop but there had better be in the future.

TGR Rating: Rumor Killed