I would think a PS2 price drop would be more likely until Sony needs to gear up for the next holiday season....then i'd say it's believable.

When was the last one? October? This seems a little early. I also don't necessarily think price drops have to come in $100 increments.

What about a $349 model with a Blu-ray movie and a bundled BD remote? That would capitalize on the crowd who is ready to upgrade now that it looks like the next generation of optical media has a victor.

I say no way. They just lowered it. Even with removing all that PS2 hardware and cleaning up the motherboard they're still losing money on each one. I could see one retailer having a small supply of them at that price to create some buzz, but other than that I don't expect a price drop until at least the fall if not 2009. And even then, 50$ not another 100$.

Yeah lets hope it's true and it also means a price drop for the 80 GB. I've been entertaining the idea of getting a PS3(mostly for the blu-rays), and the recent HD DVD woes have only strengthened the thought. I need backward compatibility though, I've seen roughly 0 PS3 games that I want, but there is a cubic shit ton of PS2 games I missed out on.

I just bought a 40GB last week. The 29th is my birthday. Circuit City better honor the price difference and refund me $100 if this turns out to be true.

Well, one way or another, I'm glad I've waited to buy a PS3. And I'm glad for another reason to wait.

Going through the slickdeals forum, I didn't see a source that seemed to know what they were talking about. Wouldn't surprise me if it's chatter started by Microsoft or Toshiba, geared at gimping January sales for PS3 in order to keep the HD-DVD dream alive. I love conspiracy theories.

IDC for the 40GB model, I want the 80GB. So until I see something lower, I'll wait.

im not to crazy on owning a ps3 but if it keeps price dropping like i can be convinced Id get some moneys worth out of it. i dont care about hd dvd or blu ray, im all digital at my place, having a divx dvd player is the best in my opinion, for now.

@bhive01
Yes, thats why I said roughly 0, I've seen it but haven't looked into it too much. I was really just going to get the HD DVD drive for 360, but we've all seen the news the last couple weeks. After that news is when I said, "well maybe a PS3."

If that would mean £199 in GBP, I'd be all over that like a 70's porn star on a moustache.

thats a cheap blu-ray player right there!

I think the only way Sony would consider a price drop right now is if they believe Microsoft is considering a price drop. For the consumer who hasn't been interested enough to buy a 360 during the last 3 holiday seasons, a $399 40GB PS3 compares favorably in terms of features to the $350 360 Pro.

Somebody who was really into games would already own one or the other.

Please!

if it hits 300 bucks, i would definitely get one. even if it was to just play ratchet n clank and MGS4

At $299 I would get one once some more games came out. LittleBig Planet and MGS4 would definitely warrant a purchase.

A price drop at the end of January would do nothing but piss off the people who paid $400 for the thing during the holidays.

It's not like there's anything major coming out until GTAIV (whenever that is) so why would they drop the price now?

The PS3 will continue to sell at $400 just on the fact that it's the best Blu-ray player available for the price. Blu-ray player sales skyrocketed as much as HD-DVD sales tanked after Warner's announcement so there's not even a reason for them to lower the price to compete on that front.

I could see a Summer price drop to $300. No earlier than that unless MS announces a price drop of their own, which is very likely around the launch of GTAIV.

YES! Finally. I was wondering about this. The Wii and 360 are clearly going to drop down to casual-gaming price levels this year, and I figured Sony would have to follow suit. They're still low on my priority list, but this could make it actually plausible that I might eventually buy one.

I just want it cheap as can be so i can actually buy one. With college bills and such its not easy to expedite that much money so no more bundles and such just drop the price

I don’t see why they would drop the price now. They’re just coming off their best month of sales ever, and skullivan is right: it would just anger everyone who paid $399 during the holiday season. Plus, a $100 price drop is a lot. I’d expect to see it at $349 by the end of 2008.

IF this happens, then Microsoft will surely have to drop their price.

I refuse to buy the 40GB model. I suppose I better start saving up now to afford one of the remaining 60GB models in the gray market.

I already own a 60GB PS3 but if I didn't there is no way I'd pay for a 40GB PS3 even at $100. Backwards compatibility is a must for me, I mean come on were talking about the PS2 library here, its IMO well worth the difference.

$299 sounds like an absolutely insane price, but if it's true I'll buy one the day they drop it.

I think this drop is plausible and in fact necessary. Look at what Sony's now has to deal with:

A) HD DVD is on its death throws, but the hardware is now down to $149 MSRP. That means that not only will people be picking up HD DVD players to use as upconverters, it also means that more and more companies will be manufacturing BD players in direct competition to the PS3.

B) Basic, upconverting DVD players are anywhere from $59 to $129.

C) PS3 is still the best Blu-ray player for the vast majority of people, but currently the cheapest PS3 is $399, which is way out of the budget for most people.

When faced with either a $399 PS3 or $59-99 basic upconverting DVD player, the PS3 is going to lose to upscaling DVD players in the mass market. Once competitors start making BD players en masse, the PS3 is going to most likely lose on that front as well.

If Sony really wants to take advantage of shortages of the Wii and XB360 and sell to the apathetic who will stick to upconverting DVD players because of the significantly low price, they have no choice. They need to drop the price on the PS3 now or else a price drop later might not matter except to the gaming community, which is significantly smaller than Joe Q. Public.