Sony Planning PS3 Price Cut Effective as of August?

At E3 there were many new announcements including one ‘it’s been a long time coming’ announcement, we all saw from miles away, which is of course the Sony PSP Go. But there wasn’t a single mention of console hardware price cuts from any of the companies. Well, now there are rumors about just that.

IndustryGamers reports that according to Arvind Bhatia, an analyst with the investment firm Sterne Agee, Sony plans a 100 USD (approx. Rs. 4,745) price cut for the PS3 in mid-August. This is incidentally just before the launch of Madden (8/18).

“Industry sources indicate Sony is planning a $100 price cut on the PS3 in mid-August, just prior the launch of Madden (8/18) and the start of the back to school shopping season. This will naturally be a positive for the industry,” Arvind Bahatia says, adding: “The industry is alive and well. While software sales for the first half of 2009 are expected to be down mid-single-digits, we believe the second half, in contrast, will likely be up 10% to 15% driven by a robust lineup, easier comparisons and potential price cut(s).”

This is, of course, just rumor at this point. But if Sony does slash the price of its PlayStation 3, it would be interesting to see what sort of response Microsoft and Nintendo would have with respect to their own consoles. Also, no word on whether Sony plans to reduce the price of their PSP-3000, now that the PSP Go is coming.