The Xbox 360, hitting stores Nov. 22, will undoubtedly be one of the hottest gifts this holiday season. It's going to be one of the most expensive gifts as well, with a price tag of $299 for a no-frills version and $399 for a bells-and-whistles version.

Should Sony decide against cutting prices, there are other ways to make the PS2 more attractive to consumers, such as bundling the hardware with one or more popular games. The extra units could also be earmarked for Europe, which has been a particularly lucrative market for the company lately.

The time is coming for a PS2 price cut, even if it's not this holiday season. The system has been holding at $149 since May 2004. (Sony actually didn't want to cut prices at the time, but once Xbox sales surged after a similar cut in March, it was forced to respond.)