The PlayStation 3 Shines, Briefly

Ups and downs in a rough week for Sony's console.

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The latest batch of sales data from research firm NPD showed that the PlayStation 3 had its worst month ever in the US in April, selling just 82,000 units compared to 360,000 units for the Wii and 174,000 for the Xbox 360.

Wii has outsold its rivals since it launched in November

The situation in Japan is not much different. There the PlayStation 3 is coming off its worst weekly performance, selling less than 9,000 units in a week where the DS sold around 164,000 units and the Wii 52,000.

Price is an issue, and it's not just would-be buyers asking for a cut.

Assassin's Creed, once PS3 exclusive, is coming to 360 too

Several analysts have stated recently that Sony needs to cut the price of the PS3 to attract customers, and Yves Guillemot, president of Top 5 publisher Ubisoft, told Reuters this week that Sony needs to reduce the console's price "quite significantly".

Sony remains stoical on the matter. In part, this is likely due to the company's need to first bring production costs down on the PS3 before it passes along savings to buyers.

Research firm iSuppli estimated in November that Sony loses more than $240 on each $600 PlayStation 3 it sells. Since then there have been reports that some components, including components of the Blu-ray drive, have seen their manufacturing costs come down.

At least business-minded people aren't as down on the company. Sony's stock price is at a five-year high this week, thanks in part to ebullient analysts' predictions that the worst could be over for the company.

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