Sony Pushed Toward Early PS3 Price Cut

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According to the latest numbers from the U.S. and Japan, sales of Sony's (SNE Quote) PlayStation3 console are even weaker than the dismal January figures implied. An unusually early price cut may be Sony's best shot at salvaging the product's performance.

In the U.S., February's sales numbers issued last week by NPD Group underlined how weak a position Sony is in now. Nintendo's Wii sales dipped from 426,000 in January to 335,000 in February, while Sony's PS3 sales slumped from 244,000 in January to 127,000 in February.

The $600 price tag of the fully equipped PS3 is weighing heavily on Sony as U.S. consumers show some signs of spending caution. The size of PS3's slump relative to the Wii's decline is revealing, especially because the Wii had no particularly interesting new games debuting in February. ...