TVs are about to get cheaper . Sony Corp . gave up Friday on a goal to profit from televisions this fiscal year and Panasonic Corp . forecast price drops will deepen this quarter . Earlier , Samsung Electronics Co . predicted “ severe ” competition for the year - end season , echoing comments from LG Electronics Inc . a day earlier . Projections from the world ’ s four largest TV makers signal the industry will fail to capitalize on the biggest sales quarter of the year , with some analysts predicting price declines of as much as 25 percent in 2010 . Companies from Microsoft Corp . to Intel Corp . are increasingly counting on corporate demand as consumers are reluctant to shop . “ There ’ s going to be a price war this Christmas season and there ’ s no way around that , ” said Tsutomu Yamada , a market analyst at kabu . com Securities Co . in Tokyo . “ The whole strategy this year is ‘ sell earlier and sell for less . ’ That makes life miserable for the manufacturers . ” TV makers were betting earlier this year that pricier LED TVs with brighter screens or 3 - D sets would keep prices from falling the typical 20 percent to 25 percent annually , according to Atul Goyal , a senior research analyst at CLSA Asia - Pacific Markets in Singapore . That bet hasn ’ t materialized as pessimism has increased recently and shoppers in the U . S . aren ’ t willing to pay extra for higher quality sets . “ Consumers are saying , ‘ I like the product but I don ’ t want to pay a 30 percent premium to the other one . I ’ ll wait , ” Goyal said . “ Prices will have to come down . That ’ s a given . ” U . S . retailers such as Target Corp . and Wal - Mart Stores Inc . are sweetening discounts ahead of the holiday season to move merchandise as joblessness hovers near a 26 - year high . Target , the second - biggest discount retailer behind Wal - Mart , said this month it would lower prices on more than 1 , 000 toys to attract shoppers . Wal - Mart responded with its own discounts . Sony Chief Financial Officer Masaru Kato said Friday the maker of Bravia TVs is forecasting a loss from the business this fiscal year and the company is bracing for “ harsh ” competition . Sales of 3 - D sets , projected to account for 10 percent of the 25 million annual TV target , are trailing Sony ’ s previous expectations , he said . While Tokyo - based Sony raised its full - year net income forecast 17 percent to 70 billion yen ( $ 867 million ) , the world ’ s third - largest TV maker attributed the increase to better - than - expected earnings from games and computers during the quarter ended Sept . 30 and said it ’ s “ cautious ” on the outlook for the rest of the year . Full - year profit at Sony ’ s main electronics unit that makes TVs will be lower than anticipated in July , the company said , without specifying numbers . Panasonic , the world ’ s biggest maker of plasma TVs , said falling prices , the stronger yen and more expensive raw materials prevented the maker of Viera TVs from raising its full - year profit forecast even though earnings during the first half exceeded the company ’ s projections . The yen trading near a 15 - year high against the dollar isn ’ t helping . “ The strong yen will be a major hurdle in the TV business in the second half , ” Hideaki Kawai , the executive officer in charge of finance and accounting at Panasonic , said in Osaka . “ It ’ s an extremely severe situation . ” Korea ’ s Samsung and LG , the world ’ s two - biggest TV makers , have voiced similar concerns after the advantage of having a weaker won , the worst - performing major Asian currency from April to June , dissipated . The won ’ s 5 . 3 percent gain against the dollar since September makes it the region ’ s best performer during the period . Samsung forecast earnings are poised to fall from their record high in the three months ended Sept . 30 and said competition in the TV market will be “ severe ” during the fourth quarter . “ We expect increased oversupply and price declines in the memory market , as well we possible further declines in LCD panels , ” said Robert Yi , vice president of investor relations at Samsung . “ Combining these with a possible appreciation of the won , we expect the overall fourth - quarter business conditions to be difficult . ” Fourth - quarter prices of LG sets will probably fall as much as 8 percent from the preceding three - month period , as TV makers clear mounting inventory , Chief Financial Officer David Jung said on Oct . 28 . Global LCD television shipments may increase 24 percent to 180 million units in 2010 , Bank of America Corp . ’ s Merrill Lynch said in an Oct . 19 report , lowering its previous growth estimate of 29 percent . Merrill cited weak demand in the U . S . and Europe , as well as high inventory for the revision . “ The Christmas season makes or breaks you and this year you ’ ve got unemployment and deflation , ” said Yamada of kabu . com Securities . ( Bloomberg )