I think the price cutting is more needed in Japan than in the states right now... or even Europe.

If Sony does this and the PS3 fails to provide a substantial return on profit, the financial outlook for Sony would become quite dire.

Damn "insurance caveman" isnt looking so good...oh, wait its just carrot top.

A price cut should happen in PAL regions purely as we know how screwed over we are on price. Although i think the ps3 might be selling all right over here in the UK.

But we'd like a price cut purely as a PS3 doesn't just mean shelling out for the console but also for a HDTV.

personally i doubt i will get a PS3 for quite some time due to such a high price and very little that interests me at the moment, but i do want one in the future.

What's up, Nose? Nice caveman ya got there.

What they need is not only price cut, but ORIGINAL & EXCLUSIVE AAA games that make the damn system worth having...

@Chippo: Yeah, you need a HDTV.
If you're a crazy graphic whore.
Otherwise normal TVs are just fine.
Good ol' tube.

Dear sweet god what is that thing

"Sorry, Mr. Homeowner. We can't pay your claim because we didn't sell enough copies of Lair..."

@zany_ninja: They got lot of stuff coming, its not out yet but stuff is coming. But price is still a major factor. The price cut on the PS3 sparked a big boost in sales in the US, and thats what they need. And get those systems selling, get more devs on hand

@zany_ninja:

Well, that's funny. For every exclusive game that does come out for the PS3, I see the same comments.

"*Insert game* is good but isn't worth $600"

Price seems to be the only deterring factor at this point in the game.

I have to agree with Zany here. If the console was $250 I still wouldn't buy it if there was nothing I wanted to play. I've never been much of a Sony fan, good things WILL come...but not until 2008. As a side note, the fact that HD DVD is gaining support from more and more studios surely isn't helping the 'cheap-blu-ray-player' thing that PS3 has going for it.

An insurance IPO to fund a price cut...that's one WTF moment in gaming history.

That...wow, selling off a part of your Empire to pay for a failing product...that's a new one.

@MonsterKingRen: But with the price of the PS3 being so high in the UK i'd want my money's worth.

i can't imagine it looking that great on a normal TV (although i have never seen it running on one so i could be wrong)

As soon as this beast hits 300 bucks (I don't care if it's a 20 gig, used or otherwise) I'll be getting one.

Looks like my wait may be shortened a bit.

Just a lil'.

Sony doesn't really need another price cut, they need to invest in getting some games out. A handful of high profile games won't cut it either, the system needs visible industry support. So far they are just repeating the failures of the PSP. High priced system with an expensive disc media, and lack of 3rd party games. Price cuts won't fix that problem, only spending more money can solve that problem.

This sounds more like something Trip Hawkins would have done to try and save 3DO. Maybe Sony should take the Easy Ways to Raise Capital for your Company class at the John DeLorean School of Business.

It's getting that bad for Sony eh? Wow.

@Lyme said:

If Sony does this and the PS3 fails to provide a substantial return on profit, the financial outlook for Sony would become quite dire.

Indeed. Sony has staked the future of their company on the PS3's success or failure. It will be difficult for them to recoup their development costs from just PS3 hardware sales, even when one looks at the long tail. Instead, they were hoping for massive hardware sales that would drive the cost of the cell processor down to the point that they could begin using it in more profitable hardware areas.

Between that, and their plans to use licensing fees and other synergies created by establishing Blu-ray as the next video format, Sony was hoping to ride the success of the PS3 into more profitable areas for their company. Unfortunately, things have not gone according to plan, and much of what they hoped for is still in doubt.

no offense, as i don't understand it completely either, i feel that some people are commenting without knowing the whole story.

what i got from it:
looks like a price cut may happen again soon, wait and see.

Where is the proof that sony is selling this IPO? hint at the question mark on the subject this is speculation and nothing more. Maybe i just woke up today and realized how "National Enquirer" kotaku really is. Show me proof a document from board of directors? an actual analyst who was in on the conversation. Till Kotaku might have to use the secret weapon "click red heels 3 times" they have a better chance with that story as a subject. than the drivel that is being published as of late.

Sorry just at a loss lately as the hype train is promoting a defective system over a stable system.

Good game comes out they say the controls... Online game comes out they say too expensive? I must be missing something here since most stuff on Live are in the same price range and people are going crazy over it.

PS: blueray is still king of the hill and noticed most cheap Hd-dvd players that are selling are only 1080i what a crock marketing it as it an equivalent system. The real hd-dvd 1080p are selling for the same price of the blue ray in my area. Just as an fyi in case you guy's weren't aware of the actal facts.

Sony's own worst enemy is it's marketing department.

As for the 'stable system' over defective system, as of yet the only thing the 'stable system' has done for me is collect dust. By contrast, I've played the hell out of the 'defective one'.

Read into that what you will.

Ouch, this is looking like desperation to me.

Sony (and other investors) have spent billions on the development of Blu Ray and Cell… This seems like the wrong direction.

Personally I would hate to see Sony go away because of this folly, though this can still prove to be one of the most successful business ventures in electronics' history.

What if HD-DVD makes a comeback, like ThisCharmingMan is proposing?

Ooooh, I'd never buy a PS3 then.

Did you play the hell out of it it's first year? Im mean fine call of duty was fun but there were no amazing games till after the first year. Which in itself is not an excuse, since i agree more games of A+++ rating need to come out on both systems. im not a fanboy not that i kown of but i bought the ps3 on the value the ps2 brought me. I dont regret my descion. Originaly i had the 360 but it failed in 2 weeks and after research on the net found out about red ring. so i just got my money back from futureshop.

@sklav:

Which HD-DVD players are you talking about? I never knew there were players that didn't display the native resolution of HDDVD.

If this is true I would love a link or a model name/number so that I can avoid it.

Wow, I never thought it would come to this.

Sony has it a low and its sad.

IPO's are generally not bought by you and me kotakuites, they are bought by big name corps looking to see seed money off a growing investment. Sony is a publicly traded company as it is, and to set aside an insurance IPO for a product's price drop I can honestly say I've never heard of. Sony's pure stock price might take a nose dive from this because it clearly is not a sign of strength in a company.

Also, whose going to buy into this? China investors have been very iffy in Japan (with their history, some businessmen still have issues with each other) USA firms have been touting the branding of Nintendo and have marked Sony as a 'sell'. What's left? the Euros?

@ThisCharmingMan:

HD-DVD getting "more and more support"? Paramount got bribed into going exclusive, and yet there are more exclusive large studio support for BD.

Furthremore, cheaper hardware hasn't exactly helped HD-DVD and the PS3 hasn't been the cheapest BD player in some months. No matter how we look at it, the HD formats are still off in may ways.

@ ATRAHASIS

You're missing one critical part there. The speculation includes an increase in Bravia production, and "help" SCEI. The Bravia line put the company back in black despite SCEI's losses.

The future of SCEI depends on the PS3, but not the whole company. It's part of the reason why they're not letting go of the PS2 until it's completely dead.

1080i, isn't as good as resolution as 1080p..most hd-dvd players (if i'm correct) are 1080i, while all bluray players are 1080p. ( forgive me if ive got the i's and p's backwards)

The Toshiba HD-A2 (soon to be replaced by the HD-A3) is the entry-level player, and only outputs 1080i. It sells for between $200 and $300. It is also slow as hell, and the internet functions seem to choke a lot. On the other hand, it came with 5 free movies, and it allows me to watch HD stuff that is not on Blu-Ray. My PS3/Blu-Ray is always my first choice, but if a movie or TV show (Heroes) is only on HD-DVD, at least I can still watch it. Honestly, since my Sammy LCD does a good job of interlacing, the 1080i thing is not that bad, especially given the price, but the slooooowness of the player kills me. The PS3, which is pretty much infinitely upgradable and outputs sweet 24Hz is still the best HD player out there by far.

Here's an interesting thought - if Sony gets their new video download service going, does that mean that the PS3 will be able to play 5.1 audio from the XMB?

@Loyal2none: The HD-XA1, [reviews.cnet.com]

The Toshiba HD-A2 [reviews.cnet.com]

Several others as well, but I didnt want to look up a bunch of reviews. Most of the newer ones are 1080p but you still have to be careful of what you are buying. And then not all the discs are even in 1080p yet.

The caveman is the off hook!

Good lord, some of you are taking this as confirmation and completely missing the question mark in the title. Add the emphasis that it's a theory. An educated guess backed up by focused research unlike the hype and/or doomsaying around here and online in general.

It's not guaranteed either way.

Why do people always take what this guy says as fact? He is just an analyst that makes PREDICTIONS that are usually wrong.

Like I posted in another story here... I think it would make more sense for them to fund "something else". It may be for the new stand alone Blu-Ray players for example, or the other reason I gave before. ^^

@Atrahasis: Dood.....nothing is according to plan during the initial stages. PS1 and PS2 both lost money for Sony during the beginning but they managed to recoup their losses through software sales. Thats how every console manufacturer makes their money; from the sales of games not consoles. You wanna talk about dire? Microsoft is still getting shanked after 2 years with the 360. But i guess we are all missing the point because it doesn't matter how well any of them do; I just want my games :)

@Huginn: ummm....do you even know what an IPO is? It stands for ''INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING'' keyword being ''PUBLIC'' which means its bought by almost anyone who wants to; not just big corporations.

or it could be used to launch the download movie service.

I can't understand this move by Sony if, and it's a big if, they did do it.
They knew they were going to make a loss on the hardware from the beginning and so far reducing the price hasn't caused the massive jump in buying that would be required to offset some of that expenditure. Surely all this is going to do is expose their weak position even further. We all know that public perception is a huge factor in what console people buy and this will not help in the least.
Also, I have come to believe from the adverts for Heavenly sword that the girl has been given the nerf sword used by the "special" kids. I mean it can't be that sharp because from the way she flings it around she should have a crew cut by now.

Ok... I'm all about competition driving innovation up and pricing down... Sony damn well better stay in this race... this, this is a disgrace... Like WTH were they thinking when they launched the PS3?? And now further mortgaging out your company to pay for it's biggest mistake... I mean come on! Don't be that dumb! Look at Nintendo for inspiration, they didn't need 100 million console sales to make money.

@DarkNight_DS: yes, business moves to bring the price down (since the price was your complaint there, yes?) are a bad idea. is that what youre saying?

Maybe people are blowing things out of proportion. Sony's a massive corporation, right? Anlaysts say this IPO COULD channel funds into their gaming division, and may lead to a price drop, which many people think is necessary FOR THE SYSTEM'S SUCCESS. Sony will be fine. There will be a PS4. Microsoft consistently posts losses on the Xbox too, it's simply part of their overall strategy to do that. An actual price drop is exactly what peopl have been screaming for, so I don't know how this possibility could be viewed as anything other than positive.
Here's my perspective: I don't own a PS3 or a 360. There's many games I want to play on both systems, but I'm not willing to give money to a company that consistently releases faulty hardware and software, and the PS3's price is just ridiculous. Knock PS3's price down $100 and factor in the pretty much necessary cost of an extended warranty for a 360 (unless you're a big fan of gambling,) and the choice becomes a lot clearer. As for titles, Warhawk looks swank and there's a lot to get excited about. (White Knight Story is the first thing I've seen that screams "next-gen.") Hell, I might end up owning a PS3.

You can't really compare Microsoft to Sony. Microsoft gets all of their money from their Windows & Office division. Sony, on the other hand, doesn't have a steady cash flow of that magnitude. For the past 10 years, the Playstation brand was their biggest cash cow. And today, it's not. So, IMHO, it looks like Sony could be in big trouble.

Man I don't know how I could hold on to stock after even hearing a rumor like that.

Yet hold up this cash could be used to actualy buy up more studios so they can make more games. Very risky stuff hey but the whole PS3 thing was a gamble.

I say take the L and start looking at the PS4 R&D wise. Get your software ready and rock the house. Hey and another thing expand the market more!

@Antic791: Is right MS is a beast! The xbox 360 is bills gate's hobby money. SONY needs cutting edge back in their name. Really though I'm hoping the rendering hardware gives them a nice boost. They better get going as Nvidia will be quick to take that from them also.