Microsoft, meanwhile, will be looking for a continued boost from Halo 3: ODST, the recently released new installment in the blockbuster science fiction–based first-person shooting game for its Xbox 360 console. Other key titles will include Forza 3 and Left 4 Dead 2.

Sony’s PlayStation 3 will also be counting heavily on sequels, including Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time. The company says 25 exclusive titles will be available for PS3 this holiday and early next year. Anita Frazier, an NPD Group analyst, said the gaming companies would likely be leaning on sequels regardless of the economic situation.

“Well-known and loved franchises are the bread and butter of the industry, and new franchises are risky, as always. I also don’t think the economy is playing a part here,” she wrote in an email. “Remember that most games take two-plus years to develop, so games planned for this holiday would have been in development prior to the economic meltdown.”

At the same time, analyst Goodman noted that some future new games that might have been given the go-ahead in better times were no doubt axed behind the scenes this year because of the economy.

Sony’s console is in third place behind Nintendo and Microsoft in market share. Sony kicked off the recent console price cuts by dropping the 80 gigabyte PlayStation 3 by $100 to $299.99 in August. Microsoft on August 28 dropped the 120 gigabyte Xbox 360 Elite by $100, to $299.99. Nintendo followed on September 27 by dropping its Wii console to $199.99. Nintendo had charged $249.99 for the console since its launch nearly three years ago.