In spite of being number three in terms of console sales, Sony CEO said they have no plans to drop the price of its expensive PS.

Sony Computer Entertainment President and Group CEO Kazuo Hirai said at E3 that Sony would not drop the price of the PS3 at this point. Hirai said, We’re very happy with the price point that we have. We will move when we think it’s appropriate at some point in time.

Many in the industry say the reason that Sony is lagging behind Microsoft and Nintendo in sales is because of the $400 price tag. Compared to other console prices, it is the priciest as Nintendo retails for $250 and Xbox 360 is $200.

Game developers and others in the industry are putting pressure on Sony to drop the price of its console.

In terms of sales, Nintendo is in first with over $50 million, Microsoft in second with 30 million sold, while Sony is in third place with only 22.7 million PS3 consoles sold.

The clear sales leader in game consoles is Nintendo who has moved over 50 million consoles. The Microsoft Xbox 360 has sold 30 million units so far while Sony has been able to move only 22.7 million PS3 consoles.

Sony is probably determining the price of the PS3 by taking into account progress in cost reduction. The PS3 hardware business hasn’t turned profitable and if you lower the price without cutting expenses, you’ll lose more money, Analyst Yoshio Takahasi told Bloomberg.

Sony's game division posted a loss of $609 million for the year ended March 31, 2009. Sony is forecasting a second straight year of net loss blamed on the global economic recession. Sony maintains that it met its yearly goal for PS3 shipments and expects to ship 13 million PS3s in the 12 months ending March next year.

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