Sony may be shaving a few quid off PS3 consoles in its own Sony Style stores, but it’s a far cry from the global price cuts we were hoping for. We’re now expecting to wait till March for those. Don’t worry though; Sony also won’t be pushing up prices either, a move that would seem unpleasant but actually justified in the present economic climate, as the Pound loses value against the Yen.
In fact, the quid has lost 40% percent of its value compared to the Yen, and that has forced Sony to charge retailers more for many of its products, including HDTVs and digital cameras. It’s now up to the stores to either pass on the increases to consumers, or tighten up their profit margins yet further. Sony doesn’t expect to be the only company faced with this decision either, and given the number of major electronics manufacturers based in Japan, that’s probably a fair assessment.
Fortunately, generous Sony (now there’s two words you seldom see together) is going to keep its PS3 prices steady. An SCEE spokesperson told Play.tm that it would be sticking to its current pricing and that increases in the price of other products would not be affecting the console.
Leaked reports from a recent SCE annual briefing strongly suggested that Sony would be seeking to make the system more price competitive from March – a rumour that Sony has fervently denied – but with the changing world economy, we might be being too optimistic.
