The author has valid points whether some on these forums like it or not. The recent success of the PS3 over the last eight months compared to the previous eight months had everything to do with the cost benefit ratio of the console. For the average consumer the price of the PS3 did not equate to its value. So they could not bring themselves to buy into the console. However even with the multiple technological merits of the PS3 there is a finite number of consumers who can put forward the necessary funds.
With the new price on the arcade in North America Microsoft will do much the same the value will exceed the price, and more to the point it will move into the realm of impulse buying. Consumers will not view it as a major investment. So it is a easier financial decision. Much in the same way that the new price in Europe earlier in the year for the console spurred more purchasing. The problem for Sony is Microsoft is going to be in this demographic first. They will be there for some time before Sony is able to get there, and by the time they get there Microsoft will be mining an even larger segment at a lower price.
The second valid point that the original poster made is the library. Microsoft is really playing the field. Coming through with a variety of titles on all fronts, and they have all the multiple platform titles as well. This does lead to a perception that the 360 is a better gamers console. Sony is hard pressed to match the variation. They will always be hard pressed to match the variation for the remainder of this generation. Not only because the 360 had a head start, but because the architecture of the 360 allows for speedy PC porting both ways.
I also think that many posters are unrealistic when it comes to expecting answering price cuts from Sony. The price cutting last year was unprecedented, and was only done out of a sense of desperation. Sony must wait until their pricing is at some parity with manufacturing costs. Sony really ceded going lower in the long to go lower in the short. By losing so much early on they removed the possibility of reaching lower prices later on. Lets look at it like this had Sony been able to maintain the original price point last year they would be in a better financial position to go as low as three hundred dollars this year. They would have lost less money that way.
There is also one last thing to consider Sony cannot win a price war with Microsoft in the long run. Microsoft has all of the advantages. Longer production run, a pay to play service, and the larger revenue from games. Microsoft is running on a rich mix whereas Sony is running on a lean mix. Sony cannot even win the exclusive war against Microsoft. With all of this revenue Microsoft has more cash to get what it wants on its platform.
Anyway as long as Microsoft can meet demand they are going to have a fabulous four months if the Arcade reaches two hundred dollars. Even some die hard console loyalists on these forums have said they would pick up a 360 at two hundred dollars. That will probably not be the case for Sony, because when the PS3 reaches that point two years from now there will just not be any interest that late in the console war to jump on board. Especially since stand alone BluRay players are bound to be less then a hundred dollars.
