First and foremost they did release PR after the last NPD period.
Second Sony is in a position where they need to get PR out before NPD so the mainstream press picks up that PR before NPD comes out and refutes it. Look at last period Sony puts out PR about how price drop boosted PS3 sales and it gets picked up by CNN and MSNBC. Then 2 days later NPD numbers come out and bingo Sony was BSing.
MS has dropped the price at most $50 across the 360 line. They have still sold great in NA and well in Europe (Not as good as PS3 lately), but they have held price and put themselves in a position where they could do the following right before GTA4 hits.
360 Arcade $199
360 Premium $299
360 Elite $399
Libraries sell systems not individual games







