14 DAY TRIAL // The PlayStation 3, the home gaming console produced by Sony, is the most pricey of the lineup of current generation gaming platforms and it’s becoming more and more clear that this is hurting its sales numbers all over the world.
So, there are a lot of people, both players, developers and analysts, who are calling on Sony to take the price of the PS3 lower in order to allow more people to have access to it and the games catalogue attached to the console.
On the analysts’ side, Mike Hickey from Janco Partners is saying that the Sony made console should be getting a price cut of 50 or 100 dollars in March or April, because “Sony has historically revived console unit velocity at retail by cutting the price, a market measure we find likely to be repeated, particularly given the enormous recessionary pressure currently imposed on consumers.” He also estimates that the market share of the PlayStation 3 is of just 18%, which should be a disappointment for Sony looking at the dominant positions enjoyed by the two consoles bearing the PlayStation name.
Another important industry player calling for a price cut is Alex Evans, who co-founded the developer studio Media Molecule, the creator of LittleBigPlanet. He told Gamasutra in an interview that “As soon as they drop their price, ho ho ho. I shouldn't say that, but it's true. I mean, you know.” He added that he had no regrets related to making LittleBigPlanet on the PlayStation 3, while also advising Sony to bring more of the casual games that appeared on the PS2 to the newer PS3.
Other unconfirmed reports are saying that the date for a 100-dollar price cut is April. Others are saying that Sony will wait until this year’s edition of the E3 trade show to announce the price modification for the PS3.