Will the Xbox 360's lead over the PS3 last?

For two months in a row now, the Xbox 360 has solidly outsold the PlayStation 3. But in an interview last week, a PlayStation executive said that the Xbox 360's rise was a "blip" attributable to its September price cut and that the consoles would be neck and neck during the holidays.

"We're going to see a very tight race this holiday because of our gaming lineup," said John Koller, Sony's director of hardware marketing. "We're very bullish on holiday sales."

Of course, Microsoft is talking up its own holiday prospects, partly on the basis of its own titles, as well as the price cut, which brought the price of the Xbox 360 Arcade to $199. In an e-mail I received earlier this week, a spokesman wrote, "Microsoft is uniquely positioned for a record breaking holiday and we look forward to sharing the results with you!"