An interview with Sony Computer Entertainment America chief Jack Tretton in the latest issue of Game Informer revealed some troubling news for consumers waiting for a lower-priced PlayStation 3. When asked point blank whether price drops for the PS3 will be " as soon or as drastic as they were for the PlayStation 2," Tretton responded with a curt, " No."

For reference, the PS2 was reduced from $299 to $199 in the United States on May 14, 2002, 565 days after the Oct. 20, 2000 release date. Using this data and Tretton' s above answer, we can expect that the PS3 won' t come down in price until at least June 4, 2008.

The reason for the shallower pricing curve? According to Tretton, the increased investment in R & D and hardware makes the system " a lot more difficult to cost reduce" than the PS2. " There' s a heck of a lot more under the hood and it costs us more money to make it," Tretton told Game Informer. Despite this, Tretton doesn' t seem to think the system' s price will hurt its position in the marketplace. " I think the consumers that get their hands on a PlayStation 3 clearly see the value and not only want to buy one for $599, in some instances they' re willing to pay ridiculous prices to buy one on eBay," Tretton said. (Oh really?)