Well as we all know the recent price drop on the XBOX 360 basically makes it the cheapest psava next-gen console on the market, even cheaper than the Wii (the arcade version). This means that the PS3 is the most expensive console right now on the market and what does that mean for Sony? It means a disaster. People do not want to pay for expensive things, especial gaming systems. Yes, the PS3 may be more than a gaming system, but the consumers don’t want to pay a premium for something that will be cheaper latter on in its life span. So what can Sony do to get them out of this hole that they are in for the holiday season? Well its not as simple as cutting the price tag to something cheaper. Sony has already said that they will not be lowering the price any more this year, so that is out of the question. Well what else can they do beside bring out quality games that they hope that will push the system out the retailers doors? Well they will have to do a couple of things to get to that point where the consumer will take the PS3 home.

1. Make a Entertainment and Gaming bundle. Show the consumer that the console is for both media and gaming purposes. Show them that you support both and that you will be pushing both at the same time without problems. Re-assure the consumer by offering them a game that will be a hit this holiday season like: Little Big Planet, Resistance Fall of Man 2, or SOCOM: Confrontation, or even MotorStorm Pacific Rift. This will bring in new buyers to see that the games that are made for the PS3 are good and not as bad as they thought (yes, some do suck). Then also pack in a movie that can show off its Blu-Ray player and show why the PS3 is next gen with it.

2. Price Cuts. Yes you don’t want to do a price cut for the console, but you can cut other prices. Cut the prices on the accessories (especially DS3) and games. Cut those and you will have an advantage, especially in the games area. Show consumers that things will not be as expensive as rival consoles and that the games that are that cheap are worth it.

3. Get the money out of the bank. The games for this year are announced and coming out. What Sony needs to do is go to the bank get money and then call up some game developers and try to get some exclusives. Sony needs to get some more exclusives for their console or even times exclusives because Microsoft has been doing this for a long time and look where it has gotten them. Microsoft got GTA4 DLC, Rock Band 2 Timed Exclusive, and MORE! Sony you need to get more exclusives in bed for the PS3 and you need to take this time and do it. even try to get movie exclusives for the PSN Store and away from the XBOX Live Marketplace. The little things can give you an edge.

4. The last option for winning the holiday season is…a price drop. Sony, you may not want to do one, but if those options above fail then its your last chance to win this holiday season. You need to lower the price as a last resort option to match or get within the range of the XBOX 360 price range. Without it you will stay in dead last while the other consoles will get ahead in sales, making it harder to catch up next year. This may not be what you would like to do, but if all fails, this is a must to stay alive.

If Sony follows these steps, then they might make a dent in the gap of the Wii’s sales and the XBOX 360’s. With the limited Wii supply the Wii may not be that much of a threat, but the lowest priced console, the XBOX 360 might be a big challenge for the PS3 and Sony. Let’s see what happens this holiday season.