Final Fantasy XIII pre-orders higher on PS3 than X360 in the US?  Not too surprising.  What is surprising, is according to the latest US pre-order chart for Feb 20, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is not THAT much higher for X360 (341+) than PS3 (278+); notable because 360 is a system known for its 'shooter' popularity and its huge install base advantage over the PS3 in the US.  Another interesting fact is that Super Street Fighter 4 and Madden 11 are currently higher for PS3 on this list as well.  Seriously, Madden?!  Granted it's still early and that's most likely to change, but after shooters, sports are the 360's forte, especially considering that 360's versions are almost always technically superior to their PS3 counterparts.

It's unlikely that PS3's cross platform games will ever completely overtake 360's in the US;  FFXIII being one of the exceptions, but Sony would greatly benefit from doing better sales numbers with them than they have in the past.  And it does seem that many (not all, of course) 360 owners are people who owned a PS2 last generation; people who aren't necessarily loyal to particular company and just want to play what's popular now.  Those people could be easily swayed by the next big thing.  And what about people who don't own an HD console yet?  This brings me to my next point...

God of War 3.  A popular brand in the US and certainly a showcase spectacle for the technical prowess of the PS3.  Can this game help sell PS3s in America?  Unquestionably yes... for it's debut month.  But can it sustain the sales (with the help of Gran Turismo 5) throughout the year?  Will Blu-ray's increasing popularity ever be a viable selling point for the PS3?  It's certainly more tech for the money.  Worldwide the PS3's sales are quite respectable to the 360's considering it debuted a year later at a much higher price, but it's the US where they really need to catch-up.

Don Mattrick from Microsoft once said at E3 that 360 will outsell PS3 when all is said and done; probably just talking about America, but could he be right?  Or could Sony surprise and come back?

Sony will not go down without a fight!! That is for sure, this is going to be an exciting year!

If you've been following the preorder charts from week to week it's not actually that surprising.  THe PS3 initially had a substantial lead due to an exclusive beta that I believe required a pre-order to get in.  As the game nears launch however the 306 version has surged ahead, increasing the gap by 30k-50k weekly.  If the exclusive beta had been for the 360 then it wouldn't have ever even been close. 

Now, as for overall game sales I think it is true that sales of PS3 games are increasing across the board, and that is an unambiguously good thing for developers considering the increased cost of development this gen and the current economic situation. 

yes it is on a rise in americas wait till march and april i believe they'll have there shortages sorted out by then and we'll see ps3 beating 360 in NA on a weekly basis i also dont see according to VGC 360 beating the PS3 in americas for all of 2010 by that big of a margin aswell

nice avatar aswell

i think its bound to happen

near the end of every gen or mid point etc, i get bored of what i got and get the other sytems

360 fans are no different, they all gotta be curious

only ones that wont are achievement whores and fanboys

FF13 is a japanese rpg,big suprise that it has more preorders on a japanese console,and BFBC:2,that game is pure crap,bad choice for a comparison.

I believe Microsoft said the same thing like a year ago. Microsoft said they will do everything in their power to keep their lead on Sony's PS3.

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