@mrstickball

I mean the biggest three games that are going to be out next year for each console :) Sorry my bad. But hopefully, MS announces more in the coming E3. And yep two weeks or a month for that matter doesn't say much. PS3 outsold 360 for 4 weeks the last price cut as far as I remember.

i just think that they need to have a bigger linup next year to be on par with PS juggernauts which are all coming next year.

@Spectrumglr

I thought FFXIII just got delayed to late next year?

This time of year, every console from all three companies is going to sell. None of the big 3 need to do ANY advertising or announcing. They just need to have available product.

whatever all,

price drop + big event = better effect

Sony really needed the price drop so they didn't wait for the "big event"
but Microsoft is not in the RED, so they can wait until another big event.

I suppose GTA4 will the big event for Microsoft and maybe also for Sony.

Could it be that MS is happy with where they are at the moment in terms of overall sales and feels like they don't need to do anything further through the end of the year? It seems to me that MS has been a bit more "controlled" in its response to Sony and Nintendo... They didn't let the last round of increased sales of the PS3 force their hand into quickly dropping their price. I suspect they are going to conserve marketing budget, ride out the holidays, and come out swinging in the first quarter of next year.

"""@Spectrumglr

I thought FFXIII just got delayed to late next year?
""

==> even if the gamei is released at the end of 2008 if will only be avaibable in Japan.

ooh I didnt even think about the elite being in line with the 40gb. Thats true actually, my mistake. I completely forgot about that. I guess 50 dollars would do alot in terms of getting buyers on the fence to pick up an Xbox

Yep. considering the dropping sales in EU hardware recently, I imagine the next price drop will happen there next, it's just a matter of time. As for Japan, I think MS is on the verge of dropping Japan completely which is a bad bad bad idea for MS if you ask me. I wonder what Lost Odyssey sales will be like when it hits Japan.

I agree with what a few of you siad on here about ms just riding it out. I mean sony has put alot into this holiday season with not only big price cuts but bundles and advertising. Like most things at the end of the day its about the bottom dollar and if you think about all sony has spent to get there lead this month so far(and maybe next) and how little that lead is ms will be very happy with that cause there return will probably be much higher leaving them in good shape next year.
I agree about the games though sony does seem to have the bigger hitters but if ms can time there price drop just right(and who knows may be 2 next year) along with a strong e3 they again could ride out sony big guns. All in all it looks like a great gen this year and next.

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

I don't think GTA4 is MS's game completely as it is going to be released to the PS3 as well. One thing's for sure, it's going to hit both consoles with big sales though. I think the only question is whether how much GTA4 + price cut will give sales advantage to MS.

 And yep, I think MS is just sitting this one out trying to exhaust Sony's resources for next year.