Microsoft and Nintendo decline to follow Sony on budget pricing

Following yesterday's news that the price of Platinum PS2 games is being slashed to UKP 14.99, Sony's rivals have informed our sister site, Eurogamer, that they have no plans to do the same with their own budget ranges.

"There are no current plans to reduce the pricing of our Xbox Classics range," a Microsoft spokesperson told Eurogamer.

And GameCube fans are out of luck, too: "We currently have no plans to review the price of our Player's Choice range of software," said a Nintendo representative.

"There are also currently no plans to introduce a first-party budget software range for Game Boy Advance," he added, quashing any rumours to the contrary.

But Sony's initiative will inevitably force its two console rivals to fall in line sooner rather than later. With price pressure on full price titles forcing the high street to adopt aggressive tactics, older titles are looking disproportionately expensive. A lower trade price across the board would undoubtedly spur demand for budget priced games, and similarly put pressure on the second hand market - an area many high street retailers such as Game have done well out of in recent years.

Sony's move also puts severe pressure on Budget PS2 publishers such as Midas and Play It. Without the big price differential to make their products look attractive, it will be interesting to see how the market responds to their offerings.