The 360's significant lead in the Americas is almost entirely attributable to Kinect. I knew this was coming. Microsoft really pulled Kinect out at the perfect time. It has boosted 360 sales substantially; otherwise, 360 almost definitely would be lagging behind ps3, probably by a margin of at least 30-40k/week. Go on Amazon.com and look at the top 100 video game items being sold. Kinect standalone (although it doesn't impact 360 sales), Kinect 4gb 360, and kinect 250gb 360 are all in the top 30-35. I've been checking out the Amazon top 100 periodically for a month or two now, and it's been this way consistently. If you look for a 360 standalone in the list, you'll almost never find it. America is eating Kinect up.
Prior to Kinect though, I think 360 has simply now become the "cool" system to have in the U.S. - in large part bc it was out the door first in this generation and pulled a large userbase in that time (might as well say it was out 2 or 3 years b4 ps3, bc ps3's extremely high price still was pushing ppl to choose 360 instead). This was a much bigger deal this time around bc of the strong integration of online play. It wasn't just, "Oh, get a 360 so we can talk about the same games"; it was "get a 360 so we can play online together" (and talk about the same games). Sony chose the wrong generation to get cocky. They lost a huge amount of fans bc of the year head start they gave M$, but also largely part bc of the high ps3 starting price. Those ppl then convinced their friends to get 360's so they could play online together, and it snowballed. As an example, one of my best friends has had a 360 for a few yrs. He just got a ps3 Christmas 2009 for LBP. He never plays his ps3 though, and his only reason is the fact that he has so many friends on Xbox Live, and very few on ps3. (I know this can go both ways, but I think it happens much more often with 360 bc of its head start and just the fact that the install base in the Americas is so much higher than ps3)
Looking ahead, now that all the current 360 owners have an established experience online with the 360, I don't know how many will want to switch when the next generation begins. Idk how Sony will recover the lead in the U.S., this generation or next. Hope I'm wrong. Sony needs to pull something big out with their next-gen console, and part of it has to involve stronger focus on/support/ease of online play. They also have to shoot to get their console out first, and at a reasonable price.
