As it currently stands, Sony’s PlayStation 3 is available in a $499 160GB and $399 80GB setup, each of which packs the functionality of the now-discontinued 40GB package. How or why the console has arrived at these configurations is a matter best left to an accomplished novelist. The important point to note is that, to date, Sony has only officially enacted one price cut for its flagship console, which came in August 07.

Into the new year, however, PS3 pricing may be in for a change. Over the weekend, UK-based gaming site D+Pad reported on a number of Sony-related items allegedly leaked by an attendee of the publisher’s Staff Annual Briefing in London. The conference covered a number of topics that gaming enthusiasts would fall over themselves to know, including a paraphrased quote from Sony Europe president David Reeves that the PS3 “will be getting more competitive in price from March 2009 onwards.”

Stay tuned for the confirmation…