Despite continued claims to the contrary, it certainly looks like the price of the Sony PlayStation 3 will take a cut next week, going from an outrageous $599 to an outrageous $499.  That's a nice start, but at that price it's still likely that if most PlayStation fans were to buy one, they would have to either eat it for sustenance or hollow it out for shelter.  GameDaily BIZ has the news.

It wasn't clear at first if this ad was a special deal specific to the electronics retailer or if it's indeed a retail-wide price cut instituted by Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA). As it turns out, a merchandising manager (who wished to remain anonymous) at one of the world's biggest retailers has confirmed to GameDaily BIZ that the price drop is indeed retail-wide and it's scheduled to take place on July 12, although the first wave of ads to promote the PS3's new price won't kick in until Sunday, July 15.

So that's one talking point of next week's Sony E3 press conference out of the way.  Now all we need is this year's version of the "giant enemy crabs" gag and I think we'll be all set.