Analyst predicts US PS3 price cut in April

From $399 to $299 to help boost sales

15 January 2009 11:38 GMT / By Verity Burns

Analysts have predicted that Sony will drop the price of the 80GB PS3 in the States from $399 to $299 come April.

That's a big price drop, especially considering it was uncovered recently that Sony was just about breaking even on the machines following a long run of losing money on every console sold.

However, analysts have predicted the price drop to push sales following reports that Sony will report a $1.1bn operating loss for its financial year ending 31 March.

The analyst also predicted that North American sales figures for December would show Xbox 360 outselling PS3 by nearly 2:1, with Microsoft shifting 1.35 million consoles during the month, and Sony only 750,000.

"Once the PS3 is at a more affordable price point, we think that sales of that device will once again begin to grow", said analyst Michael Pachter.

As you'd expect, Pachter has also predicted that Nintendo will dominate the December sales figures following a successful Christmas month. Wii sales totalled 3.25 million, while DS sales hit around 2.6 million.