With Sony confirming it will now be laying off workers in both Europe and the United States (while "restructuring" Japanese operations), the company appears to have little choice but to reduce the price of its PlayStation 3.

Sony's console is responsible for the gaming division job cuts, largely because, although extremely powerful, the PlayStation 3 has simply been too expensive. It seems Sony may be creeping ever closer to that much-needed price slash, with its president calling such a move "a possibility".

For those that can afford it, the $599 PlayStation 3 includes a Blu-ray high definition DVD player, a powerful cell processor, wireless capabilities, and free online play. Unfortunately, few can afford it.

That's got Sony management stuck between a rock and a hard place. President Ryoji Chubachi recently told a Japanese daily publication that he "does not rule out the possibility of lowering the price" on Sony's PS3. (Source: canada.com)

How can it be done?

Although early reports indicated that Sony, as perhaps expected, lost money on every PlayStation 3 that shipped, inevitably costs are decreasing. It seems that may already be taking place, as production of the system is reported to becoming cheaper and cheaper. That's primarily because Sony is finding less expensive ways to produce blue laser diodes, making Blu-ray less of a burden.

So, how much will the PS3 go down?

It's anybody's guess at this point, although ITWire.com is reporting the system could be slashed by as much as $100. (Source: itwire.com)

That could make Christmas 2007 much better for Sony than holiday 2006.