As of now, the PlayStation 3 is lagging behind both the Xbox 360 and the Wii in terms of systems sold. The console is also the most expensive unit on the market, which currently is $399. One way Sony might want to carry some momentum going into the 2009 holiday season would be to slash the price of the PS3. And according to Sterne Agee analyst Arvind Bhatia, they just might do that.

Arvind Bhatia is reporting from “industry sources“, that Sony is planning to cut the price of their PlayStation 3 by $100 this August. Their reason to discount the system is in preparation for EA’s highly praised annual football game Madden 10. They also want to capitalize on the back to school shopping season because nothings says welcome back to school like a brand new PS3.

Months before E3, rumors had suggested that Sony would make some kind of similar announcement during the week of the expo. Sony denounced these rumors, and by the time the show ended — no price cut had been revealed.

So will Sony finally make their PS3 cheaper to the consumer? Well, the company is still repeatedly denying any kind of cut, however, this is the same company who said the PSP GO wasn’t real either. That ended up being a ‘lie.’

In order for Sony to catchup to at least the Xbox 360 this year, they might have to slash the price — especially in these tough economic times. Their best bet would be to release another bundle, but maybe include a slightly less size hard-drive, or something to that extent.