PS3 price drops occur at select retailers

Two high profile retailers have dropped the price of the PS3 from $249 to $199.

Amazon currently offers the 160GB Playstation 3 system at the reduced tag. GameStop is also offering the console at the same price, but bundles in a free copy of Batman: Arkham City or Mortal Kombat: Komplete Edition as well.

Is it a permanent decrease though?

That’s the question, and Sony has made it clear that the answer is no. A rep told GI.biz (via Shacknews) that the price cut was a ‘temporary GameStop promotion.’

That would suggest Amazon just felt inclined to match the price; other retailers such as Best Buy have not responded in kind and still sell the console for $249.

So a temporary promotion is what we’ve been told, but who knows for how long. We’ll have to wait and see what develops with the retailers, and if Sony has a change of tune in a few weeks when E3 rolls around.