Analysts: PS3 Price Drop by Holidays Likely

Two major analysis firms are predicting a price drop for the premium PS3 by holiday season in North America.

Two analysts from fairly well-known firms have said that it is likely Sony will drop the PlayStation 3 80 GB version's price to $500 from its current $600 pricepoint by this holiday season.

""We note that Sony recently acknowledged that it will no longer produce its 60Gb PS3, and we expect the price of the 80 GB PS3 to be reduced to $499 before the holidays, maintaining a premium SKU at that price point," said Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter.

Video game prediction market simExchange analyst Jesse Divnich arrived at a similar conclusion. After a re-examination of sales patterns in the last six months, he said, " We have come to the conclusion that the PS3 cannot remain competitive in the current North American environment at its current retail offering at $499 and $599."

Divnich said that a bundled package could also appear in lieu of a formal price drop. He added that he predicts a 2:1 360:PS3 sales ration this holiday season, despite last month's NPD numbers showing PS3 closing the sales gap.

Sony has not officially commented on any such price drop, but it is likely the 60GB PS3 will run out of stock in advance of the holiday season.

Source: Gamasutra.com