Sony is the only one of the three platform holders to not yet issue a statement after NPD’s January stats for the North American market showed that PS3 was the only major console to see an annual decline in monthly sales.

The numbers showed that whilst Wii sales grew 148 per cent, DS sales 99 per cent and Xbox 360 sales 33 per cent, PS3 unit sales fell by 25 per cent compared to the same month in 2008. PSP unit sales fell by the same amount, hitting 172,000.

All the signs point to a PS3 price reduction after the company’s full year financial results at the end of March. SCEE boss David Reeves recently admitted that RRP movement may be in the pipeline, stating: “Will it be the cheapest player by end of ‘09? Probably not – but it will make progress.”

However, Reeves has also recently stated that profitability remains the PlayStation division’s main goal – something that SCE seems on track for but will be all the more challenging considering the firm’s recent financial results.

The firm’s commitment to PS3 was reaffirmed with the recent news that it will be shelling out a whopping £4m this quarter on marketing for its brand.