Sony to cut PS3 price tag by summer

The PS3 costs $600 and a lot of people aren’t willing to pay $600 for a console. That may be about to change according to game analyst Michael Patcher. He seems to think there may be a price cut in the PS3’s future. Right now he thinks it will occur by the end of the year but may happen as early as this summer.

Let’s take a look back. There used to be two versions of the PS3, a $499 core version and a $599 premium version that included WiFi, a larger hard drive and silver accents on the case. Sony decided to nix the $499 version so now there is only the $599 version and it’s not moving as many units as Sony or the industry would like.

Some say it’s that Sony lacks good games, it has good games but not enough to make the console worth it yet, let’s just wait and see what’s on offer by the end of the year. And no, Spider Man 3 does not count, by all counts that is a horrible atrocity and insult to gaming everywhere. If you own a copy of Spider Man 3, please follow Penny Arcade’s Safety Guide.

If and that’s a big IF, Sony has managed to by some miracle reduce their manufacturing costs they might be able to reduce the PS3’s retail price. After all a $30 price cut did the PSP a world of good. A $30 price cut on $200 means in theory that the PS3 should see a $90 price cut down to $509, more reasonable, isn’t it?

That would mean the $480 XBOX 360 Elite would have some serious competition on its hands. Okay, Microsoft, how about that integrated Blu-Ray drive.

Many have their doubts about a PS3 price cut, Sony is taking a loss as it is with future uncertain, I don’t know if they could really handle cutting the price.

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• Why it is likely Sony will drop the PS3 price Tuesday