So this is when the console battle finally starts to get interesting.

In spite of the swathes of hype over the Wii and the Xbox 360, the new generation console war isn’t really - Nintendo aside - in the mass market space yet, with pricing still reflecting the premium status of the machines.

But that may be about to change. Sony’s confirmation of a $100 price cut on the Playstation 3 in the States sets off phase two of the battle, and we’re at the point where the real numbers start to come through. It’s a price cut that Sony both couldn’t afford and couldn’t afford not to make, but at least it means this Christmas - even with a 360 price cut expected - will be a better indicator of where the chips will eventually lie come the end of each machine’s lifespan. 100 million PS2 made it out over the course of its (ongoing) lifespan, and thus far the 5-10m sales of individual machines at the moment have to be taken as opening skirmishes, and little more.

The likelhood is though that the PS3 is still two price cuts away from being mass market, not one, and as a result Sony are continuing to surrender a valuable commodity in this particular battle - time. Will $100 be enough to stem the tide? Probably not. And it’ll be interesting to see what they do in the UK, what with at least one High Street store still brazenly selling the PS3 for under £400 anyway.

The one to watch is, still, the Wii. More and more pundits are creeping out of the woodwork and suggesting that now is as good as it gets for Nintendo’s baby. But, surely, only a fool would bet against it having one hell of a Christmas…