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"Once the PS3 is at a more affordable price point (we expect a cut to $299 in April), we think that sales of that device will once again begin to grow," said Pachter.

"We expect another cut in price for the Xbox 360, with the feature-laden Pro model likely to come down in price to ?170 at or before this year's E3 show in June. We expect Nintendo to maintain Wii pricing at ?170 until the company sees signs that demand is slowing, which means a price cut may not happen until late in the year, if at all," the analyst added.

Pachter believes that Nintendo will remain the most popular console maker around, estimating that over 2008, the company had sold 3.25 million Wiis compared to and 2.6 million DS handhelds, whereas the Xbox 360 notched up 1.35 million sales and Sony sold just 750,000 PS3s.