Xbox 360 Needs a Price Cut to Beat PS3 This Holiday Season, Analyst Says

The winter holiday season is almost upon us and Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter believes that Microsoft should implement a price cut for the Xbox 360 if it hopes to continue the upward trend it recorded throughout the year in terms of sales.

While the games industry has been affected by the ongoing economic downturn, with sales being much weaker when compared to previous years, Microsoft's Xbox 360 still recorded impressive sales, with profit growing as opposed to its earlier years.

Games industry analyst Michael Pachter believes this trend might not continue at least during this holiday season if Microsoft won't cut the price on the console.

"Without a price cut for the Xbox 360, overall hardware sales should trend down in November and December," Pachter said, via Industry Gamers. "While we may see a reduction in the price of Xbox 360/Kinect bundles before holiday, we expect Microsoft to wait until after the holidays or until sales decline dramatically before considering a price cut on the standalone console."

Microsoft already confirmed its holiday bundles, one for the standalone Xbox 360, the other for the Xbox 360 and Kinect sensor, so it's unlikely that a price cut will be made this year. It is offering some serious deals on the Kinect, with three free games added to its bundle, but that's definitely not a full pledged discount.

On the other hand, what with the recent price cut made to its PlayStation 3 back in August, Sony might really make some profit throughout the holiday season, at least according to Pachter.

"PS3 hardware sales should continue to be strong due to the $50 price cut and an improving release slate over the remainder of the year," the analyst said.

Exclusive releases like the blockbuster Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, not to mention the lower price, could give Sony an advantage over the Xbox 360 this holiday season. What do you think? If you're finally going to buy a console for the holidays, what will it be?