I keep hearing people talking about how the PS3 will pass the 360 in world wide sales once Microsofts next box is released.

But this is under the presumption that Microsoft will for some reason stop producing the 360. Okay so maybe nobody thinks they will completely drop the 360, but I think most believe that Microsofts focus will dramatically shift towards their new box upon its launch.

And at that point the PS3 will finally surpass the 360 because of the lack of competition due to Microsofts shifted market focus.

http://nexus404.com/Blog/wp-content/uploads2/2008/09/720new.jpg

Does the introduction of this badboy mean the PS3 can finally catch the "older" 360?

This all makes sense, Right?

NO.

With all of the problems the launch of the PS3 may have had, Microsoft will absolutely take one page out of Sony's book from here on out.

Microsoft will keep one Elite sku of the 360 around for a very very long time into next gen. The 360 will remain as the competition for the PS3 until it no longer sells. Sony has sold the PS2 and PS3 since the introduction of the PS3, and while some may argue that the PS2 may have taken away some potential PS3 sales, I think most can see the advantage in keeping the mighty PS2 on the market for so long. Because of the fact that PS2 was a resounding leader last gen, its selling potential remained.

Going forward however, I do not see that advantage being needed to keep the current gen consoles on the market into the next gen. What this means is that the PS3 will exist when the PS4 is launched, (and well into the PS4's lifecycle) but the same can be said for the 360. The 360 will remain on the market when the next box launches.

Naysyers will say that only the market leader can do this, but I would argue that all 3 consoles can remain on the market into the next gen, and if anything the wii is at a disadvantage in this regard due to its current tech. This is highly debatable and somewhat off-topic I know.

But the point of this thread is to say that the 360 will not fade into nothing when Microsoft's next console launches. There is one important thing to point out here though.

The PS2 IS last gen, and the PS3 IS this gen. The 360 IS this gen, but upon release of the nextbox/720 there may not be a clear differentiation between itself and the 360, no matter what.

Microsofts 720 will be the next generation, yes, but upon looking at the 360 and the 720 side by side on the shelf, the consumer may just see different sku's and not different generations like they should. This could be problematic or advantageous for Microsoft, and I believe this is what will happen. This topic could dealve deeper into games and sales of consoles and even into how this gens tech seems more future proof than previous gens... but I digress.

If and when the PS3 outsells the 360, it will be due to hard work and quality of games, and the region sales advantages which Sony holds in Japan and to some extent others, Not because the Nextbox/720 launches.

We are entering the idea of the double gen, of which the video game market is big enough to simultaneously support two different generations of video game consoles at the same time.

Upon the introduction of the next gen consoles, The PS3/PS4 will compete with the 360/720 for a very long time.

Do You agree? Will the 360 be able to stay on the market well into next generation?

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All this to say that the Xbox 360 will hang around when the next generation Xbox is released?

@ Squil, pretty much, yeah... but The Double Gen!

I just find it all very interesting, kept writing because  I couldnt stop.