Eh, maybe. Prices are falling on many things these days.
With each version of the PS3, Sony has removed features in an aggressive attempt to bring the costs down. Sort of contrary to every other advancement in technology. Things like the fact that new PS3's don't have the right hardware to play old PS2 games at all, only having 2 USB ports now (instead of 4), no memory card reader, and no ability to play SACD's. All things thrown out because of cost. Look at eBay at the prices that these older PS3's go for - they're usually *much* higher than $399. The demand is there. Sony was just losing too much money.
It's a well-known fact that Sony loses money on every PS3 it sells. But they're almost at the break-even point with the current PS3 (according to an article I read a few weeks ago). So it seems to me that if they lower the price to $299, they're going to be right back where they were with the previous versions. They'd be again losing $100+ on each sale, which would be against everything they've worked for, and there's not much else they can toss out.
There are a lot of people that buy PS3's just for the BluRay capability, because it's a darn good BR player. With those folks, Sony isn't ever going to make their money back. And it'll just be worse if they drop the price.
I completely understand that the point is to sell the consoles at a loss and make up for it on the sale of games. And I certainly agree that cheaper is better for us consumers, but at some point a company has to make money. Especially in these 'troubling' economic times.
Though on the other hand, I've read a few articles in the past couple of months that seem to grumble about Sony possibly having 'lost the war' against the Xbox and Wii already. Basically saying that the PS3 doesn't have enough marketshare to compete, and that the whole PS3 ecosystem is in a downward spiral. Fewer developers making games, fewer people buying PS3's, fewer games sold, repeat. Perhaps Sony is reacting to such rumor.
All I know is that I'm pretty impressed with my PS3, both as a gaming console and a DVD/BR player. I just wish I had gotten the previous gen one that played SACD's.
