It is being construed as the big announcement that wasn’t. Many of us knew a price drop was coming, just not for a console that is basically defunct. It did not take Microsoft a long time to get their 2 cents in:

“This move from Sony at the end of the PS2’s life cycle is not unexpected,” Chris Lewis, VP of the Interactive Entertainment Business for Microsoft, told GamesIndustry.biz.

“We believe, however, that the future lies in the growth of current generation consoles and Xbox 360, as the fastest growing games console last year, with sales up over 80 per cent, will continue to drive the market.

“Xbox 360 has clearly demonstrated that the combination of the right price, blockbuster games as well as the market-leading broad connected entertainment content available through Xbox Live will continue to resonate with the ever growing needs of today’s consumers,” added Lewis.

I can’t say I disagree with MS here. Price cutting the PS2 is a nice gesture but a gesture nonetheless. The PS2 was a landmark system that millions of people have logged billions of hours playing. I do not know how Sony can possibly tell people that a price cut on a PS2 is better than a PS3 which has been putting out amazing titles left and right, especially when there are many people who want it but they cannot spend the money right now. Once the 360 became what it is, the Xbox was an afterthought. Sony should at least move on and focus on the present and not dwell on their past laurels.