Well, the rumored PS3 price drop information that’s been floating around this week has officially been debunked. That is, at least, for now. In a statement released to VGChartz, an SCEA representative said: “SCEA has no immediate plans to drop the price of the PS3 system. As you know, NPD sales numbers for February will be announced today and will include Killzone 2 sales the first couple of days at retail. Given that the title launched so late in the month, we’ll see the majority of sales in March. Killzone 2 experienced the highest presale numbers of any first party PS3 title to date and we anticipate that it will be a blockbuster for PS3 and the PlayStation brand.”
While I’m begging for a price drop as much as the next low-income gamer, I can’t say that I’m surprised. Then again, what does the word “immediate” actually mean? I think that it’s safe to assume that while there will be no price cut as soon as the GDC, the console will indeed see some sort of price change within the year. But when you think about it, does it really make financial sense to announce a price cut months in advance? Not really, because then sales will drop off until the impending change. So while “immediate” may trash any rumored pre-GDC price changes, who’s to say that the price cut won’t happen within the next two months?
According to VGChartz, analysts are predicting a two-stage price drop for the PS3 this year: the first a $50 drop around June, and the second another $50 decrease before the holidays.
