1) The one year head start- This head start is the only reason why the XBOX 360 is outselling the PS3.
2) Popularity in America- The XBOX 360 sales in America alone are very close to exceeding the total sales in all regions that the original XBOX.
3) Popularity of online gaming- Microsoft took advantage of this with the 360, creating a very impressive online community in XBOX Live.
4) Popularity of FPSes- Gears of War, Halo, COD (albeit not exclusive), Left 4 Dead and the Tom Clancy Advanced Warfighter/Vegas series have all had universally acclaimed titles.
5) Strong 2007- MW, Mass Effect, Halo 3, Advanced Warfighter 2, Rock Band, BioShock, Guitar Hero 2 and 3 and the Orange Box were all released on the 360 in this monster year.
6) PS3 Launch Failure- What a terrible launch. At US $599 (or CAN $659) for the 60 GB PS3, consumers were simply not willing to spend that much when they could buy the Wii and a 20 GB 360 for less money. Lack of good games available for the PS3 in November 2006 also helped out the 360. PS3 was predicted to dominate this generation and had it been priced at $300-$400, it probably would be toe-to-toe with the Wii.
7) Pro Spin Doctors- Seriously? Don't laugh. Microsoft averted the massive hardware failure rate by promising to ''fix'' all the consoles that needed aid. It may have cost them one billion dollars, but it did solve a problem that could have led to Dreamcast-like sales. Also, in order to buy a WLAN adapter, XBOX Live Gold for a year, and at the time, an HD DVD player for the 360, consumers would have to pay more (that's right, more!) than the cost to buy a PS3. Their spin? The 360 is cheaper than the PS3. What? But the PS3...is $50 or $100 more expensive than the 360....so I'll buy the 360.
8) Ads- With the exception of the, "It's time to get Pure and Lego Batman and an Elite for $299 commercial, the ads for the 360 have been great. Microsoft knows how to work the consumer, and that is apparent with the XBOX 360.
9) Extra Third Party Support- Wanna play GTA 4? Go ahead by a PS3.....but you won't get the exclusive DLC. Advertising Madden and COD as 360 games also helped.
10) Popularity of the PS2- 2001,2004,2005 were near-perfect years for PS2 owners. By 2005, the XBOX and the GameCube started to grow stale, releasing few AAA titles, pretty much admitting defeat. Microsoft was ready to launch the XBOX 360, while Sony was not ready to launch the PS3 because the PS2 was still selling brand new, AAA titles.
With all that being said, a third place finish is very likely for the XBOX 360.
Human contact, the final frontier.
