More by virtue of Sonys arrogance and IMHO deserved Fall from grace this gen.

I think even the haters have to admit Nintendo have been a model of consistency thru every gen.

I mean even the N64/GC were money spinners. They may not always get it right with the consoles but there first party games and business practices are second to none.

You know this site is ran by Sony fans when they choose "Not even close", to them i say

"Who has a 5 million lead? Aww to soon??" then i LOL

well to be fair the question is Sony Vs MS and NOT PS3 vs X360.Sony had almost 40% of revenue in gaming last week whereas MS had only 13 %.

to you I say 

"who has 3 platforms on the market???" :P

LoL at people saying Xbox 360 and PS3 are equal in the US.

Have you looked at the numbers? Xbox 360 destroys the PS3 in the US. Even after a  $100 price-cut and a relaunch of the console with a brand new design, they only won like 2 months in the US. Think about what might happen when MS releases a Xbox 360 slim bundled with Natal and a $50 price-cut... Xbox 360 outsold the PS3 in the US in every single year this gen. They really are not equal.

Xbox 360 outsold the PS3 in the US by 2.3 million consoles in 2007
Xbox 360 outsold the PS3 in the US by 1.6 million consoles in 2008
Xbox 360 outsold the PS3 in the US by 700k consoles in 2009

so far in 2010: Xbox 360 outsold the PS3 in the US by 100k.

The Xbox 360 even outsold the PS3 worldwide since it was launched. You have to be a fool not to think MS is a real threat to Sony and the PS3.

The Xbox brand gets bigger and bigger with every console sold. Remember how "new" the Xbox 360 was for a lot of people, especially in Europe. Most of the Xbox 360 owners are new to the brand and they are definitely liking it, otherwise it would not sell that well. It still is the console people play most on. For the next gen, the Xbox³ launch will be much bigger since people are getting familiar with it. They know what they can expect. When the Xbox 360 launched nobody expected games like Resident Evil, Final Fantasy, Tekken, Devil May Cry, GTA, Metal Gear Solid or Street Fighter 4. Next gen, people will know that these games have a very good chance to be on the Xbox³.

The only segment where MS is not as big as Sony are handhelds, because they are not in that business. Windows Mobile 7 and Zune HD might be a tiny first step though.

I don't think Microsoft has reached Sony's level just yet, but they are closing in. To improve they need more first party games.

Microsoft will never match Sony's past achievements in this industry. But right now they're about equal in the console market.

Their first party still sucks though.

Its getting there.

Some because they are smart, some because Sony is weak right now.

Bear in mind, if we are talking about 'gaming' and not just console gaming, then Microsoft publishes a VAST number of PC games. They are a gaming giant on par with Sony, as they are dominating Sony in NA consoles, and their PC game publishing competes with Sony's oversea's dominance.

Playstation > XBOX
SCE > MGS

I don't think so. They have in the US and UK, but that's it. They need to do it worldwide, and that means breaking mainland Europe, Japan and to a lesser extent, but becomming bigger, Asia. Until that happens they aren't close. I have to admit though that Microsoft advertising and PR have really helped develop mind share which will continue into the next gens so they will get there.

The other point is that Sony introduced the Playstation and disrupted the Market. Nintendo disrupted the market with NES and Wii. Until MS has a disruptive generation then I'm not sure they can be classed as a gaming console heavyweight.