Surprised that neither a 40Gb PS3 model nor a price cut was announced at this year's TGS, Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter has said he still expects Sony to release the smaller hard drive model for $399 by the holidays, predicting another price cut in 2008.
"We expect the price of the 80Gb PS3 to be reduced to $499 before the holidays, maintaining a premium SKU at that price point," said Pachter, adding that he expects "the heavily speculated 40Gb PS3 to appear at a $399 price as early as the holidays (and in any event early next year)."
Further price cuts aren't expected until spring of 2008, when high profile titles and exclusives like
Grand Theft Auto IV, Metal Gear Solid 4, Little Big Planet and
Gran Turismo 5.
Following his visit to the Tokyo Game Show, Pachter says that despite few surprises on the software front, he came away impressed by local reaction to
Little Big Planet, Metal Gear Solid 4 and
Assassin’s Creed.
"Each game appears to be well positioned to resonate with the Japanese audience," Pachter concluded, "and we think that
Little Big Planet will be a console seller in Japan."
