Sony’s UK boss has announced that their $399.99 80GB PlayStation 3 will avoid a price cut unti late 2009. Ray Maguire spoke at the Gamer 3.0 conference this week in London and denounced rumors of a price drop, saying that he "has a business to run" and shareholders to please. Maguire noted that the console would not be receiving a price drop this holiday season, stating that next year would be a safe bet for the reduction. Analysts indicate that this could be due to this being the first holiday season with Blu-Ray at the forefront of DVD technology.

Ah, those price cuts are a wonderful thing — unless you just shelled out the higher figure a few days ago.

But for the rest of us, the news is good on Sony’s new A810 and S610 series Walkmans. The A810 was $140 and is now $120 (4GB for $150 and 8GB for $200). The S610 starts at $100 for the 2GB model (down from $120), with the 4GB and 8GB selling for $130 and $180, respectively.