PS3 Informer

New PS3 Bundle, But Where's the PS3 Price Drop?

Loose lips let slip that Target will receive a new PS3 bundle pack. The product item # is 207-23-0009 and will be available on March 29. We're sure this is news that Sony was planning to announce at next week's Game Developer's Conference (GDC). That's the internet for you -- always spoiling surprises.

The new PS3 SKU bundles together an 80 GB console with two of the console's best selling games, MotorStorm and Resistance: Fall of Man. Sadly, there's still no sign of the prophesied and much needed price drop. The new SKU will sell for $399, the same price as the current low-end PS3 model. What a letdown! Throwing in extras doesn't make the system any more affordable.

Have the analysts got it wrong about the price drop, though? We'll wait till June. Even if it does come true, EEDAR Analyst Jesse Divnich debates the benefit of a PS3 price cut, saying that a June price drop will "unlikely propel sales ahead of last [year's] for the first half of 2009," regardless of the PS3's "impressive holiday '09 line-up."

Divnich further claims that Microsoft has cemented itself as the "core console of choice" for this generation and that Sony will have to wait until "2011 through 2017" for a comeback, when the price of Blu-ray lowers significantly.

Hey now, not so fast Divnich. We've seen plenty of things to be excited about the PS3. So let's not underestimate the power of the PlayStation brand. With God of War III coming up, this might be a banner year.

[Source: Joystiq]