Report: PS3 $499 on July 12

[Lovingwii]

Report: PS3 $499 on July 12

Although Sony has yet to confirm a price drop officially, GameDaily BIZ has received confirmation from the retail sector that the PS3 will be dropped to $499 next week. Sony itself recently talked about "refining" the PS3 price. Now it appears to be happening.

A PS3 price cut rumor spread like wildfire across the Internet this afternoon when several sites spotted a new advertisement from Circuit City. The ad as seen on Kotaku lists the PS3 console at $499.99, $100 less than its current price.



It wasn't clear at first if this ad was a special deal specific to the electronics retailer or if it's indeed a retail-wide price cut instituted by Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA). As it turns out, a merchandising manager (who wished to remain anonymous) at one of the world's biggest retailers has confirmed to GameDaily BIZ that the price drop is indeed retail-wide and it's scheduled to take place on July 12, although the first wave of ads to promote the PS3's new price won't kick in until Sunday, July 15.


Many analysts have speculated that Sony would drop the price on the expensive console this year, and some even predicted that it could happen this summer. It's starting to look like they were right. We're sure to find out much more next week when Sony holds its press conference at E3.


SCEA when contacted for confirmation declined to comment.

Via GameDaily

[kiraevo]

60GB PS3 sold at Target for $499.99

Has the price cut already been put into effect? Potentially, yes. One of our readers has let us know that he was able to get his hands on a 60GB PS3 for no more than $499.99 at a Target today. In our attempts to verify this we called the store he bought it from. They confirmed that the 60GB PS3 was, indeed, in the shop's system at the price of $499.99. Whether this is an error on the individual shop's part, with the price drop being put into effect early, we weren't sure.

We are currently in the process of calling more stores nationwide, to see how isolated this event really is. We will update this post as and when we get more information. If true, then this is an excellent start for what promises to be an excellent E3. Already Microsoft's keynote is overshadowed by Killzone 2. A pricedrop by Sony before the event even starts only adds to the pressure.

[UPDATE 1] A Kansas Target has the 60GB PS3 in its computer at $599

[UPDATE 2] Another tipster has told us that today they sold two at Circuit City at $499. Confused, the manager called it in and got a confirmation that it was correct. We are in the process of verifying this.

[UPDATE 3] A Target store in Rancho Cucamonga in California has confirmed that the 60GB PS3 is in their system for $499. It looks like there's no pattern to which stores are and aren't offering the price cut.

[Thanks Nathan and Alexander!]

Via PS3Fanboy