Btw I think access to other markets is crucial. Microsoft needs to get Rare to start producing some titles aimed at little kids and I mean good ones. Because so far the amount of games by Rare on the 360 I think a kid would play is hmm nothing. Secondly they need to fix reliability issues. I reckon in Japan had Microsoft had bullet proof reliability all those JRPG's they made would have boosted sales quite alot. It's just japanese people aren't into faulty products. I mean they have a rep for making the most reliable cars don't they. I think if microsoft fixed up in them category's they good see some excellent sales for the the third Xbox.

i think that we are overestimating the importance of the Japanese market..to me as far as western gamers and western deveoplers are concerned Japanese salese are pure statistics (written bold!): western gamers are usually more interested in western-made games (ok, there are exceptions but for the most part we can consider this as a rule), and western deveolopers are only interested in the size of the userbase in EU and US (western-made games usually don't sell at all in Japan).

In other terms If you are a western developer and you are to produce a FPS, a RTS, a westernstyle RPG, a sport game, a driving game (and it's not called GT BTW), a MMORPG or whatever you just look at the userbase in western countries...adding to the equation Japan sales it's no more than pure statistics: you know that you won't sell almost anything in Japan.

let's do some examples: you want Bioshock 2 on PS3? ok, it's basically 15M userbase vs 6.5M...you want Mass Effect 2 on PS3? again it's basically 15M vs 6.5M...and so on. On the other hand PS3 in Europe is not selling on the back of JRPG (that ironically happen to be available for the x360!) or japan-made games...it's selling on the back of Assassin Creed, COD4, Need for Speed, Fifa, PES and Uncharted: only one is an exclusive coming from japan so having a big userbase in Japan is not a great deal from the point of view of a western gamer that wants to see big games on his favourite system.

In conclusion: as long as the gap between X360 and PS3 in NA+EU will remain that big (and this gap is actually widening) then the x360 will remain the first choice for western developers....and western developers happen to be the ones that produce the games we (american and european) like the most.

From this point of view x360 is a success so far. Period. (Clear and simple...isn't it?).

In my eyes it can't be considered a success.

Why do you think Microsoft entered the console business? To finish sixth out of 6 consoles this Christmas? Do you really believe that this was Microsoft's goal or that they are happy with being dead last currently in Sales? Yes, the PS3 is in a similar boat but at least there's an outside chance that its Sales might improve next year while the 360 now had 3 Christmas periods, therefore it's no longer a new console, by now it should have a much larger userbase than it has. And anybody who says 'Well, it's only their second console' forgets that other console makers had already huge success with their FIRST, let alone their second console

 Microsoft is a million miles away from profit. Anybody who argues that every 360 now sold turns a profit for MS is very naive. It reminds me of those kids that say 'A CD costs 50 cents to manufacture so record companies turn a 10 Dollar profit on each CD'. Well, sure, if you ignore the costs of paying the artists, the song writers, the musicians, the technicians, the sound mixers, the marketing companies, the resellers, the background singers, the royalties, the rent for recording studios for several months, promotion etc. etc. So if you believe that the only costs associated with the 360 are the manufacturing costs then you're mising all the Billions in development costs and marketing costs and all the rest. Fact is, until the 8 Billion that MS have invested so far have come back in through Sales (Software contributes of course something to this), the XBox 360 is not profitable.

 When the original XBox launched Bill Gates said in an interview that their goal was to sell 100 Million units. They ended up selling 25. MS even declared the XBox a failure in retrospect. So for the 360 to be a success it has to perform better than the XBox. And that doesn't mean 27 Million or 29 Million or 31 Million, it means MUCH more. As I said, Microsoft didn't enter the console business to finish dead last out of 6 consoles this Christmas.

NO, x360 is a FAILURE.
It FAILED to sell twice more, then in it`s FIRST year.
It FAILED on it`s BEST year.

best years come when price hits mass marke level...ie 199$/199€: this was true for PS2 and xbox...i don't see why this shouldn't happen in the current generation.

Success in the short term can be a relative goal.  But in the end Microsoft needs to make money off their console business or they need to get out.  They have been turning a profit recently and should hold a profit for this generation so I'll say it is a success.  All companies develop plans to make money.  In the short term market share/hurting competitors can be goals but in the end its always about money. 

Crazzy - so the PS3 needs to sell ~ 14m units next year, or else it's a failure too?

 This is one of the most laughable statistics people draw out. Most consoles launch at $250 and have their first price drops in 1 year. They usually have 80% of their lifetime at a mass market price. I have serious doubts that MS will even have the baseline arcade at $199 for the 4th Christmas. The premium might hit $199 for Christmas 5,probably the same time the 720 gets launched. No this will be the greatest problem with the 360.

don't know where you come from...but the reality here on earth is that 300€+ for parents that want to make a present to their children is simply too much...and is probably too much even if you earn your money and you're not a nerd that has no social life: for the vast majority of people a console it's just home entertainment like throwing a DVD in the DVD-Player and watching a movie and 300€ for a couple of hour a week is (again) simply too much.

 Also, according to the Wii fans, PS3 and 360 will never sell well regardless of price. And a statement in Nintendo's favor is a solid one, as we all know.

PS: The X-Box had horrid sales despite being the cheapest console all along last gen...