PS3 Price Cut Tomorrow?
by John Paczkowski
Posted on August 17, 2009 at 2:05 PM PT
“[If the price were any lower] I’d lose money on every PlayStation I make.” So said Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer last month. And while that remark might seem to preclude a price cut on the PlayStation 3, a price cut might be exactly what we get come tomorrow.
In a research note today, FTN Equity Capital Markets analyst James Hardiman said “evidence is mounting” that Sony will announce a PS3 price cut, perhaps during its Tuesday presentation at GamesCon.
Videogame analyst Heath Terry of FBR Capital Markets shares this view, and in a note to clients, he put a dollar figure on the cut. “With Sony set to announce a $100 price cut on the PS3 on Tuesday at Gamescom in Germany according to our retail checks, we believe the other hardware manufacturers will respond with a combination of price reductions and bundling strategies that should drive significant acceleration in hardware sales,” Terry wrote, adding that the cut, should it come to pass, will mark “the first of a series of catalysts that should drive a return to growth” for the videogame industry.
Certainly, it would give Sony (SNE) a nice boost in sales in the run-up to the winter holiday consumer binge. And given its most recent financials, the company could really use one right now.
