It is an enthralling scenario, worthy of a summer science-fiction blockbuster: three vast empires mass-produce millions of electronic drones and send them into battle. The balance of power shifts repeatedly, as technological advances and cunning tactical footwork give first one empire, then another, the upper hand. But this is no movie. It is the video-games industry, the scene of a vicious three-way fight between Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft. Nothing illustrates the battle's ferocity better than the eye-watering price cuts of the past few weeks. Sony, whose PlayStation 2 console has sold 30m units since its launch in March 2000, cut its price from $299 to $199 in America, and made similar cuts elsewhere. The move was intended to head off competition from Microsoft's Xbox and Nintendo's GameCube, both of which were launched in November and have sold around 4.5m units each. Microsoft followed suit, cutting the price of the Xbox from $299 to $199. Nintendo responded by cutting the GameCube's price from $199 to $149.
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