Analyst: PS3 price cuts unlikely this year

Despite former predictions of an expected PlayStation 3 price cut to happen this year, Lazard Capital Markets analyst Colin Sebastian was of a different mind. He predicted that, based on the recent release of Sony‘s 2007 fiscal year results, cheaper console prices will be rather unlikely due to the shift in the company’s marketing strategy. Find out Sebastian’s explanation to this in our full article after the jump.

Those of you expecting cheaper PlayStation 3 consoles this year may be disappointed. Based on the the recent release of Sony‘s 2007 fiscal year results, Lazard Capital Markets analyst Colin Sebastian predicted that a PS3 price cut during 2008 will be rather unlikely.

The reason behind this was because of the company’s shift in marketing strategy for the year. It seems like Sony is less focused on the console market share and will instead be turning its attention towards online services and segment profitability for better sales.

Here’s a quote from Sebastian explaining his stand on the matter:

During its earnings call, Sony management indicated the company is now more focused on achieving profitability in the PlayStation segment and rolling out online services (e.g., PlayStation Home) rather than chasing unit market share vs. Microsoft and Nintendo. Importantly, management comments also suggest that a price cut is less likely on the PS3 this year, at least in the near term.

It definitely seems as if Sony is finally making some headway in cutting down its accumulated losses during the 2006 to 2007 fiscal year, with profitability finally expected by the end of March 2009. Sony announced yesterday that it hopes to sell 10 million PS3s worldwide this year.