Sony Corp.has no plans to cut the price of its PlayStation3 (PS3) at present to pep up demand and counter surging sales of Nintendo's rival game console Wii, Sony's president said on Friday.

At present we have no plans, to cut the PS3 price, Ryoji Chubachi told Reuters in an interview.

Sony has packed cutting-edge technology such as a Blu-ray high-definition optical disc player into the PS3, driving up production costs and making its retail price more than twice as expensive as the Wii.

The higher price tag has been cited has one of the main reasons the PS3 has been trailing the Wii in sales, and analysts have been widely expecting Sony to soon slash the price to spur on demand.

Chubachi also said that Sony was on track to hit its target of a 5 percent operating margin for the year to March 2008.

He also said the operating margin at its mainstay electronics unit is likely to overshoot its target of 4 percent for the current year.

Electronics Sony