Sony Corporation plans to halve the number of suppliers it uses for components and materials in its products over the next two years - a move that will directly impact Sony Computer Entertainment and potentially facilitate a much-needed PS3 price cut.

The move is aimed at streamlining Sony Corp's operating costs in the face of losses by bulk buying from fewer suppliers. It also ties in neatly to Howard Stringer's notion of a more unified Sony. According to Reuters news agency, this includes SCE, which has apparently had a lot of free reign in sourcing its own parts in the past.

The hope as far as SCE's concerned is, obviously, that the cost of manufacturing its games machines will drop. This could (dare we even hope?) give Sony enough financial breathing room to finally cut the price of the PS3. Of course, Sony's manufacturing costs have inevitably dropped over the last two and a half years and we've yet to see a straightforward price cut for the console. With the whole credit crunch kerfuffle getting everyone down and over two years of PS3 availability, though, it sure feels like time, doesn't it?

^{Source: Reuters}