So Sony announced special reduced pricing for the PS3 in Japan, as well as an HDMI port for the 20 gig model. No love for US fans, but that is to be expected. Sony is king in Japan and they really want to put a nail in Microsoft's coffin. My personal opinion is that this fight isn't going to be fought on price (Microsoft could almost certainly afford to go yen-for-yen with Sony on price reductions), nor on hardware (both consoles have the poop to support great games, though the Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD issue is certainly pertinent).

I've thought for a long time that it's the services - namely, Xbox Live and whatever-Sony-is-calling-it (I'm sure it's on IGN somewhere; I just haven't read all the articles) - that are going to be key. Microsoft has an enormous advantage in this area, with several years' experience under its belt and a very mature, robust, and well-liked service already available. If Sony doesn't pull out one of the most amazing v1.0 service releases in history, they might find that even Japanese consumers will ignore price cuts in favor of a superior online gaming experience.

Those of us who've been on Xbox Live since beta might not always realize just how cool the whole service is nowadays. I mean, at the top of this blog sits my Xbox Live Gamercard, a click on which will allow you to see the games I've played, compare achievements, send me a message (retrievable on the web or on my Xbox 360), etc. Soon I'll be able to play a game on my Xbox 360, pause it, and pick it up on my PocketPC. Downloadable news, demos, themes, gamer pictures, and full games? Check. Micropayments, leaderboards, tournaments, video chat? Got it.

Can Sony put all of that together during the "lauch window"? Color me doubtful...