Alright, just chipping in my two cents, I personally think that PS3 will not make it to 50M unless something major occurs. The high sales have occurred last year due to the major price cuts on Sony's behalf as well as the release of PS3 Slim, which was similar as to when Xbox 360 Elite was released, there was a sales boost and the momentum carried on forward for several months, then the sales had reverted back to normal. If Sony are to achieve the same sales this year they will have to;
a)Slash the prices again(Operating at a loss already, I do not think they can afford to do this unless they start charging for PSN or other PS3 features)
b)Release some major titles - GT5, GT5 not even having a release date would possibly indicate that it is highly doubtful that it will come out this year, *MIGHT* be in time for Christmas for the little boost of sales.
Following the "a" strategy, the price slash, Sony will begin to lose even more capital, making the PS3 a further disappointment, PS2 at the same period in it's lifecycle was currently at approx. 50m sales, whether this upsets Sony in a way or not I do not know. The slash in price will just cause more loss for the company and cause implications such as introduction of fees for services to get some of the lost capital back.
Following the "b" strategy is highly doubtful, as GT5 does not even have an official set deadline date it is highly unlikely, yet there is a chance that it will come out this year, if it comes out in times for Christmas then it can be bundled mad and advertised like crazy, but chances are by then it will be too late to regain the lost time due to the "stale" period in which nothing new will occur. I must admit last years PS3 lineup was amazing, this years.. Not so much. Everything that could have contributed majorly to the sales has already been released - GoW3, Heavy Rain etc, but we'll have to wait till E3 to find out whether there is anything exciting occurring in the year.
On the 360 front however, there is unrest as several exclusive titles have been announced, they'll most likely to be bundled up thus boosting the sales of the hardware, but that is irrelevant except that possible customer base will be lost for the PS3.
It's a tough decision, but I don't think that PS3 will reach the 50M mark, it MIGHT breach the 45M mark, but that is if something extraordinary occurs.
The history is written by the Victors.
