By Patrick Avenell

Sony and Nintendo have both gone into near-silent hiding following Microsoft’s drastic and sudden price slashing on its Xbox 360 device.

After news broke last week that Microsoft had taken the price cutting option to drive sales in the lead up to Christmas, a response, either direct or indirect was expected. Considering the significance of the price cuts, $50 on the Arcade model and $100 on both the standard and Elite models, the almost complete lack of response from these two other gaming giants is mysterious.

Whilst it would be reactionary to immediately change prices in order to negate Microsoft’s move, it was expected to cause consternation enough to invoke a gift-with-purchase or value add promotion, if only to encourage positive press reports. Media coverage of the Xbox price cutting was tremendous for the supplier, with the story being widely reported.

The press has been silent on the competition, however, because Sony and Nintendo have not released any official statements regarding the PlayStation 3 (PS3) or Wii consoles. Current.com.au has asked both to contribute to this debate, and the response has been sparse.

Nintendo Australia’s internal public relations manager, Heather Murphy, said today that, “There are no plans to reevaluate the Wii price structure.”

This laconic response is verbose compared to Sony, who altogether declined to comment to comment on the issue. This lack of a response recalls the maritime saying, the calm before the storm, with an opportunity for a pre-Christmas gaming tsunami still viable, though time and tide wait for no gaming device.