Analyst: PlayStation 3 gaining, Xbox 360 needs price cut

The air’s abuzz with the news that the PlayStation 3 outsold the Xbox 360 last month. The market seems pretty much set for Sony to take the lead in the console wars. What should Microsoft do to gain back its momentum? According to one analyst, a price cut for the Xbox 360 in the US would pretty much do it. Details in the full article.

We seem to be approaching Sony‘s time in the limelight. Recent data from the NPD Group revealed that the Sony PlayStation 3 outsold the Xbox 360 for the second month running in February. Does this mean that Microsoft would soon be trailing behind?

According to Jesse Divnich, a video game industry analyst for simExchange, this doesn’t have to be the case. Divnich notes that the PlayStation 3 is indeed gaining ground on the Xbox 360, and that Microsoft needs to react to this to be able to gain back momentum.

Microsoft recently commented that Sony’s victory in February was due to Xbox 360 shortages. Divnich, however, remarks that Sony is gaining ground, whether or not Microsoft has been suffering shortages in supply.

The answer to Microsoft’s problem, according to Divnich at least, is a price cut for the Xbox 360. A price cut for the console was recently introduced in Europe, and analysts have speculated not soon after that a similar drop will be introduced in the US.

Divnich remarks that with Sony’s victory in February, a price cut for the US is even more likely. A price cut would be Microsoft’s chewing gum solution to plug up their problem for now:

In the short-term, Microsoft’s only feasible and economical option is to look at reducing its hardware price in North America to at least slow down the PS3’s momentum until it can implement more long-term solutions to winning the next-generation console war.

Via GameDaily BIZ