At present, the Xbox 360 Arcade unit sells for $280, with the Premium edition priced at $350 and the Elite version going for $450. The 40GB and 80GB models of the PlayStation 3 respectively carry an asking price of $400 and $500.

Both Microsoft and Sony have recently commented on hopes that their respective systems will enjoy extended life cycles.

According to a Kotaku report, Pachter further predicted that the overall U.S. games industry will grow 19% this year, but that the growth in subsequent years will slow until hardware is introduced.