My prediction is that from Q3 until the end of this year the total sales for the Xbox360 worldwide will exceed the PS3.

Here are my reasons for this prediction:

1. The Xbox360 games library to be released this year is both of high quality and it is diverse in genres and scope. The Xbox360 will be stronger in the RPG, Action, Shooter and Strategy genres. It will make a compelling choice for any gamer especially those that like the Action or RPG genres as they have not been catered to well so far. The games being offered encompass a wider market share and some do not have competing offerings in the competitions lineup so far. Standout games like Fable 2 or Too human are perfect examples of this.

2. There have been many rumors floating about with regards to things such as:

A: Wireless support.

B: Increased HDD size.

C: Blu Ray.

A and B are obvious choices for their strategy of online media delivery. Taken together with C it could make the Xbox360 the ultimate media delivery platform, there have been too many rumors of Blu ray to be considered false, now that the Xmote is all but confirmed I feel confident in making this prediction also.

By adding wireless support now, they can move straight to the N standard for its longer range and increased throughput over the older standards. This is important as wireless penetration increases and the need for more bandwidth over wireless for media delivery and online play becomes aparant. I believe that with the Jasper refresh all models will recieve wireless to facilitate the streaming of media and to get more Xbox360s onto Live, and Live marketplace.

3. The Xmote. Since it has practically been confirmed that it is real I think this adds to my case. The Xmote serves as friendly remote for media centre use and as a game peripheral. As a game peripheral, it will be supported. There are too many games where it would be a "No-brainer" to include support for it. Strategy games, Flight Simulation games - Scifi in space or contemporary, practically any PC port you want to throw at it would count also. It makes sense to include it in games like GOW2 and once that happens, support will be universally included in the Unreal Engine.

Since the Wiimote works so well, theres no reason to suspect that motion controls won't work well on the Xbox360. I would go as far as to say that it would work better, because the Xbox360 isn't as limited in scope by the performance of the machine than the Wii. They also have the benifit of hindsight.

The Xmote works on three levels. It makes a straight cross shop between the Wii and the Xbox360 Arcade possible as they would use the same controls. It expands the control options for existing and future games, and makes ports between the Wii and Xbox360 more realistic. Lastly, it provides a point of difference between the Xbox360 and the PS3. An edge when they essentially compete for the exact same market.

4. Heres how I believe they are going to change their pricing and specifications.

Arcade: Add Xmote and wireless, (maybe add a 20gb HDD) keep the price or drop to $250.

This is their Wii competitor, and value option for people who just want to play games and aren't likely to go online. The price depends on how much an Xmote costs them to bundle, and whether or not they decide to add a HDD. They may keep the price higher and use the Xmote as a way of differentiating the Pro and Arcade SKUs.

Pro: Increase HDD size to 60gb, Add wireless and drop the price to $300

This is the bread and butter machine. The specsheet tweaks are needed because this is meant to be a workhorse media centre/gaming platform. It can't do that without access to media, nor a place to store it. The increase to 60gb is also psychological, I used to work it computer retail and the unwashed masses are still more impressed by bigger numbers. A slightly cheaper price and an increase in specifications should push this system to even greater sales numbers. The extra profit from Live activity should more than offset the costs involved to increase the specifications. This needs to be a solid system, it seems a little weak when compared to the PS3 offerings currently. A lower price should help bring more people into the market who could otherwise not or would not buy the machine at $350.

Elite: Add wireless, Blu Ray, keep the price at $450.

This is the Halo machine, not literally. It gives Microsoft a direct competitor for consumers who want Blu Ray and it gives people the impression that the Xbox360 is an equal machine in Pro/Arcade configuration to the PS3. The difference being Blu Ray. The problem of just having a lower price is that it makes the product seem less valuable, one of the lessons Nintendo seems to have learnt also.

5. RROD eliminated. There has been a cloud hanging over the Xbox360 brand ever since the problems started being reported. With the Jasper/Falcon updates I am confident that the machines manufactured now are reliable. When word filters down about this, and console owners are definately media/internet savvy the word will slowly spread and those people who had been put off with nagging doubts can finally put them to rest.

Done.

I hope you noticed

That Q4 LAST YEAR PS3 OUTSOLD Xbox 360 despite.....360's huge games..

It's funny because the ps3 already has wireless, a bigger HDD than most 360 models (not to mention that the arcade version doesn't come with an HDD) and blu ray.

The x-mote is stupid. The wii already has that function, no one will care about the x-mote

Err....

Your whole post is based off of speculation.

Speculation that the PS3 won't receive a similar price drop
Speculation that Blu-Ray will be in the 360
Speculation that the HDD size will be upped.
Speculation that the X-Mote is real
Speculation that wireless will be added to the 360
Speculation that they'll add wireless and more hdd space to certain skus, but actually DROP the price
Speculation that the X-Mote will be well received
Speculation that none of the 360 games will be pushed back
Speculation that sony will sit on it's Arse and not announce anything coming this holiday season for the PS3

Etc.

So, basically, your whole post is speculation, and based off of no factual evidence.

Try again.

@EHSTEVE
wow that post was pure unadulterated pwnage

You opinion is unpopular because it predicts a change in the current status quo. Predictions are made using past evidence, and so far this year past evidence has shown that PS3 will continue to outsell 360, and it has only gotten better for the PS3 so far this year, particularly in the US. I'm just no sure that the evidence you present is enough to dictate a huge change in trends like the one you are predicting.

I think the PS3 will actually increase it's weekly worldwide margin with 360 sales, and if somehow Japanese PS3 sales pick up, the 360 has got almost no chance to outsell the PS3 weekly worldwide

Blu Ray 360 has been completely and utterly debunked by Micrisoft, a company that NEVER debunks rumours

The x-mote seems pretty unlikely - only time will tell though

Price cuts in Europe did very little, what makes you think price cuts in America will have a significant effect?

if you want to use 'if''s, then you can just as well say; ''if FFXIII would hit in december in Japan, then...''

 To be honest I think your analysis is pretty weak and highly optimistic , the PS3 will outsell the 360 even if it did have an inferior line-up , it's outsold the 360 every year since launch so with more reasons to buy a PS3 than ever how could the 360 possibly stand a chance ?