PCWORLD E3 rumor's TRUE OR FALSE

[joeorc]

haxxiy said:

I don't see PS3 going below $249 this years. About the X360 slim... who knows. I think it is too late in this generation for it to happen. Most likely it will have a $50 pricecut too and some Natal bundles.

i would Agree with your take on that but after the partnership that Sony just made with Google. I don't know, there is quite a benefit for Sony with this partnership

example LA Time's released this take on the partnership:

example:

So what does the Japanese consumer electronics giant get from the alliance, if not press? As it turns out, potentially quite a bit, said Jonathan Gaw and Danielle Levitas, two technology analysts with IDC. They boil it down to three crucial benefits:

example:

1. Sony gets to set itself apart from the pack, for a short time. Television makers have been waging a battle against commodity pricing, particularly from savvy upstarts such as Vizio. While this has been a great boon to shoppers, it's annihilated company profits, especially for premium players such as Sony. Being first to have Google TV gives Sony a chance to differentiate its TV sets with snazzy apps, bite-sized software and services that can be delivered to the TV straight from the Internet without a computer. But all TV makers will eventually have access to Google TV, Levitas said, so the window of opportunity will be brief.

2. Sony potentially gets access to a new revenue stream -- search referrals. While Google and Sony would not talk about what, if any, revenue-sharing arrangements they've agreed to, Gaw thinks Google will do what it typically does with partners: share the wealth.

"That’s what Google does with everyone,” he said. “If you send them a search, they give you a cut of the revenue. The consumer electronics guys have never had that before.” 

3. Sony gets a software platform. Apart from video games, Sony has gotten a steady diet of criticism over the years for its software. Instead of insisting on doing all of its own software, Sony is starting to call in outside partners. Google is the most high-profile partner, but not the first. Earlier this year, Sony worked with a small software company, Chumby Industries, to develop its Dash device.

"Software plays an increasingly important role in devices, but it's not Sony's forte," Gaw said. "So they partner with whoever they can to give them a leg up."

For now, that leg up is coming from Google.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2010/05/sony-google-tv.html

by getting extra money with the partnership with Google, Sony may infact be able to overcome the cost so they could indeed drop the Price on the PS3 faster than they could have before.

Now

Add in the Premium PSN service added to that this may infact be a big Suprise from sony for E3. now I am not saying it's true but that sure would ,make the PS3 quite an enticement to purchase the PS3 with everything the PS3 does, an @$199.00 price drop the PS3 I think would be quite one of the Best Consumer Electronic top set boxes on the market for Price and function's that come included for that $299.00 already is a pretty great buy, but @ $199.00 would be one hell of a Price for Me that's priced at a steal!