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Sony and Microsoft will cut the cost of their consoles during the first half of 2009, one market watcher has predicted.

Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities, said that the PlayStation 3’s price will be reduced to $299 (£203/€226) during April. He added that the Xbox 360 Pro's cost will be reduced to $249 (£169/€188) “at or before” this year’s E3 videogames show.

Pachter, an established console commentator and price-cut predictor, has this time refrained from being too specific about which PS3 model will see its price reduced.

But, based on his PS3 financial forecast, we can assume he’s talking about the 80GB model. If he’s correct, it would mean the console’s cost would be slashed by around $100 (£68/€76). Microsoft usually cuts the cost of all three Xbox 360 models at once.

Pachter wasn’t so positive about a Wii cut, though. He said that Nintendo will “maintain Wii pricing at $249 (£169/€188) until the company sees signs that demand is slowing”. As a result, Wii fans may not see a price cut until late 2009, he claimed. ®

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