Sony, the Japanese consumer electronics group, has ruled out cutting the price of the PlayStation 3 console before Christmas, insisting that the PS3 is better value than rivals half its price.

“The answer is yes, if you’re asking, ‘Are these the prices we’re going with this Christmas?’” said Kazuo Hirai, president and group chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment, in an interview with the Financial Times.

Mr Hirai argues that the basic Xbox has no hard disk drive while the PS3 plays high-definition Blu-Ray movies as standard. “When you really compare apples to apples, then I think we have a very good value proposition,” he said.

Sony, launched its third PlayStation model in the line in November 2006. The PS3 competes most directly with the Xbox 360. Both are high-powered consoles that have sold well to gaming enthusiasts, but neither has matched the casual appeal and rapid success of the much cheaper Wii.

Two years after launch, Mr Hirai is keen to broaden sales but said “we’re getting to the point where price becomes more important”.

Sony has opted to include more with each PS3 rather than sell the console for less. Last week it said the main model marketed in Japan would come with a bundled game and an 80-gigabyte hard disk, up from 40GB, at the same Y39,980 price.

Another important upgrade would be ‘Home’, Sony’s long-delayed online community in which users will be able to maintain their own apartment and socialise in a three-dimensional world.

“We’re going online with an open beta [version] by the end of this year,” Mr Hirai said, but there is no date for a full launch.

In common with the rest of the industry, Mr Hirai expects video games to be resilient in the economic downturn, as consumers buy cheap home entertainment rather than go out.

“As long as we can generate excitement, then we will be less affected than other industries,” he said.

Meanwhile, the president of one of Japan’s largest game developers said the credit problems are having an effect. Fumiaki Tanaka, the head of Konami Digital Entertainment, told the FT that some of the company’s distributors are struggling to fund their operations.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0c6d283e-988a-11dd-ace3-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1

It seems like the stockholders are demanding profits, especially in these rough economic times. This might have a very bad effect on the console sales this Christmas.

The only mass market apeal the PS3 has going for it this Christmas is LBP and bluray, I don't think thats enough...

Summer 09 Home is my guess. 

Btw, I always knew that Kaz would focus on more Yens.

@halogamer

I seriously don't see Home as being a console seller in any way whatsoever. In reality the concept of managing a split online life is so geeky and un-fun its off-putting. Facebook is enough of a chore for me.

This is really the best way to go. A price drop at this time of year has a very little effect. The demand for the PS3 is there, and the software coming out is amoung the most mass appeal products for the PS3 so far. Sony knows they will sell at least as good as last year , and with that they will meet their goals for the FY. Next year once things die down it will become sothing Sony will have to start to consider. A price drop this year may mean 500k more sales, but it WILL mean between $250,000,000 and $500,000,000 in lost profit.

Maybe a Winter 09 price drop? I could see that happening with a release of a PSthree in 2010.

The Playstation division has lost Sony 3.3 BILLION dollars since the launch of the ps3. Since their products are going to be effected by a weak economy (do I really need that new tv now? do I really need a new cell phone?) they need their divisions that are resistant to economic slowdowns (movies, games) to make money for them. In the spring when the smaller cell is mass produced and they can cut production costs even more, there would be a reason to expect a price drop, not now. Especially since this Christmas season will probably be the ps2's last hurrah.

no surprise here, its what many on the board have been saying for over a month.. i see the ps3 price drop in march earliest. sony is willing to lose market share right now to keep profits up... next christmas will be more crucial with the 360 reciving another cut in october 09, that christmas should decided where each console ends up (hd console)

lol yet another article where SONY is asked about price drops this year... and everything SONY gives the same answer.

I am willing to bet that SONY is waiting for March 09 to drop the price of PS3 -- make a profit in March 08 - March 09 while you cut manufacturing costs and then drop the price during the usual slow period of the year ...

goddog is a god ;))