The PlayStation 3 Slim and the Xbox 360 Elite versions have the same price, selling for 299 dollars or the equivalent on most markets and barring any special offer. The two companies seem determined from now on to match each other’s price cuts as the battle for sales heats up with second place behind Nintendo Wii being the prize for the winner. And with equal prices, the services offered appear to be among the elements that drive up sales.

This is the probable reasoning related to Sony and Netflix finally entering into an agreement to bring the service to the PlayStation 3 beginning with November. They are now offering players the possibility of getting a disk to enable the service, with XMB integration coming in 2010. Sony has quickly pressed the point that those owning a PS3 only need to pay the 8.99 dollars of the Netflix subscription to get the service, as opposed to the extra price that Xbox Live Gold requires on the Microsoft console.

The software giant quickly hit back by saying that “For a little over $4 a month Xbox LIVE Gold membership is hands-down the best value in home entertainment, and gives you exclusive access multi-player gaming and early demos as well as Facebook, Twitter, Netflix, Last.fm, "1 vs 100" and more.”

The two companies are each exalting the quality of their online services, with both PSN and Xbox Live generating more revenue than at any other point in history, both through the sale of digital-only releases and from the sales of other merchandise. But are PlayStation Network and Live so important to those set to pick up a new gaming console?

A look at the Wii should provide ample reasons for a resounding “No.” That console managed huge sales without offering much of a digital service on the back of the unique strength of catalog of releases, from Wii Fit to Super Mario Galaxy.

Both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 live and die on the quality of the videogames they offer, with both PlayStation Network and with Xbox Live only sideshows, interesting in their own right but not decisive. Whether you'll stream video on the PS3 or on the Xbox 360, the games you play on those two actually motivates you to turn on the console itself.