If you followed E3 last week, then you probably heard about the PS3 price cut that actually was more of a way for Sony to clear out stock of the 60gb model. Sony PR people and Sony execs seemed to go back and forth over whether or not the 60gb model was being discontinued. For such a big announcement to lead to such confusion in Sony’s message to the public is bizarre at the very least.

That led me to thinking about what Sony was trying to accomplish by calling a system update(and a pretty good one at that) a price cut. When Sony CEO Kaz Harai is seen on video talking about how Sony has a single SKU strategy in the US, it doesn’t make sense that other Sony employees would lead us to believe that Sony was going back to a dual SKU strategy. Or does it?

Here is what I think Sony was trying to accomplish with all the spin around the price cut. Marketing/PR wanted to make this sound like Sony was cutting price on the 60gb PS3. Then, with the obvious sales increase that seemed to cause it would look like the PS3 was in demand. By creating that perception knowing that the 60gb model is selling well, when they are no longer on shelves, Sony could come out and act like the PS3 is selling out everywhere, just like the Wii. The illusion of scarcity would drive more people to go ahead and impluse buy the $600 version, for fear that it might sell out too.

Ironically, the only time I can even remember the PS3 being sold out is the first week maybe. After that, they’ve been in ample supply. Yesterday I was at Best Buy and there was a giant pile of maybe 50+ PS3’s at $500 and it didn’t look like anyone was interested, so it’s not very likely that at $500 the PS3 will fly off shelves either.

All of this just goes to show that Sony is looking very desperate to find any angle they can to sell the PS3. Sure, they’ve priced themselves right out of the market, but that’s not going to stop Sony from doing whatever it takes. Even if they have to lie, cheat, or channel stuff to find success. Hey, it almost worked with the fake PSP blog they launched last year too.