Behold the Sony PS3 - It took a long time to come to market and when it did the price was outrageous! There were many rumours circulating that suggested Sony had produced a white elephant but this didn’t deter games fans who threw their lot in with the PS3 (or, for want of a cheaper console, simply bought the Xbox). Now you’d think that being the mature games console that the PS3 is and considering its strong market share that Sony would be ready to cut the price ready for Santa to pop one in your stocking. Yeah, that’s what you’d think but it ain’t going to happen. Sony has ruled out a price cut by insisting that the PS3 is better value than rivals half its price. Err, I’m not sure how you answer that!

There is method in their madness. Figures show that around half of all video game sales are made in the build up to Christmas and Sony is betting that consumers will plump for fat goose that is the PS3. If Sony pull this off it will be a master stroke however they shouldn’t be too complacent. Yes, fans of games consoles always manage to find that little extra to get the best games on the market but that doesn’t they’ll pay through the nose for a console. The Nintendo Wii is a fantastic console and, on top of some really addictive games, it’s less than half the price of the PS3. Even the entry level Xbox 360 is cheaper than the PS3!

Interestingly, Sony has decided that, rather than dropping the price, they will instead offer more for your cash. The main model now being sold comes with 80Gb disk and a bundled game. Sony are hoping that features like this and the inclusion of ‘Home’ (the Sony online community) will draw in more buyers.

Sony are gambling a hell of a lot on the turn of an economic dice - if this tactic fails they’re going to suffer - badly.

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