Overall, it's rather bad, but not the end of the world.
There are a few major advantages to the "1st strike" of a console (in this case, the Xbox 360).
#1. Owners of both systems will much more than likely pick up the first one out, if they are remotely interested in the game, killing a sell for the 2nd version (never underestimate those that have both systems).
#2. Shelf Space. The system with more games = sells more systems, and games. If Skate, Dirt, or Stranglehold are taking up more shelfspace for the Xbox 360 (or inversely, Virtua Fighter 5 on PS3), that system has an automatic precieved advantage in the consumer marketplace ("Mommy, but that other white X system has soooo many more games, buy it, now!")
#3. Age. If a game doesn't age well....And...Well.....Sucks, by the time the 2nd version is released, it can fail horribly. In the case of Tomb Raider - the Saturn version was delayed due to hardware issues (sound familiar?), and the Playstation version not only sold better, but by the time TR came out for Saturn, it was near DOA...As far as I can remember.
A bad game will get ruined if it sells later than the first once, since consumers are by then, privy to the suckage of a given game. A real good game won't have those effects, but it's still bad. And after all, we *are* talking middle-of-the-road games, and not top-tier games.
Of course, we can always do comparative stat analysis of X360 vs. PS3 multi-plats and delayed multi-plats and see if there's a difference if needed.
Back from the dead, I'm afraid.
