regions can be different, PS3 possibly.. not sure on the numbers exactly, but they might still have japan or might take it back! you never know these days haha

Yes it is possible they will lose in the future and according to VGChartz they lost this generation as well. Nintendo won the battle for North America. Nintendo sold about 8-million more Wii's then Microsoft sold 360's. The idea that Microsoft won a single year this generation as indication they've won and may never lose again lol.

Microsoft will lose again whether it be next year or the entirety of next gen, Or the generation after it. Microsoft is great and they have a clear advantage in North America but they do not own it by a long shot. Also if Apple joins the industry which many industry analysts suggest will happen they could effectively challenge Microsoft's home field advantage.

Say Apple purchased a games publisher or built 6-8 internal studios to make first party games. Then decided to do things differently then their competitor focusing on content Microsoft doesn't already provide. Apple could definitely challenge Microsoft's grip.

Though in all honesty North America has been the major battleground for generations. Nintendo and Sony have nothing to fear in Japan but each other and while Japan used to be the main battleground with all three major competitors competing and Atari really picking up the scraps in NA> Right now the battle is in NA because that is where Microsoft is and that is where Nintendo and Sony stand to lose most.

I don't think given how important the North American market is to every game publisher and hardware manufacturer that any one company will dominate the market for ever. In fact dominating more then two generations in a row would be a massive feet!

Could Microsoft lose NA from now on? Yes they could.
Will Microsoft lose NA next-gen? Probably not, if they continue to improve and improve like they have for the last 2 years they have a shot of hanging onto NA for a few years.

They have to pull the right strings though:

Launch Price at a maximum of $449.
FULL Backwards Compatibility with Xbox 360.
Achievements.
New Unique IP's. (As well as keeping the current ones in tact)
Strong launch line-up.
Keep improving Xbox Live.
Windows 8 OS interconnectivity with other devices.

Well I think Live will definitely help them to retain a modest following. The marketplace downloads are a strong incentive, but I believe the main factor will be the social aspect;- friendlists. Also, I expect most subscribers to be on annual plans and they may wish to upgrade as a means to getting full benefits from their earlier investment i.e. the new console comes out 3 months after renewing membership.

Nothing is granted to anybody for the second to next gen, but MS is currently so strong in USA that it will most surely win this gen and the next too there, it was quite likely also before this BF, but now it is even more.
Bias towards USA and UK gamers tastes means MS can forget world domination, but it should be very happy anyway, as USA and UK give the highest tie ratio, and except in Japan, XB360 sells at least decently everywhere else.
Surely M$ must be a lot happier about XB360 than about Zune or Windoze CE/Mobile/Phone, amongst its efforts to diversify from Windoze and Office.

If it wasn´t for Kinect, they hadn´t even "won" it. But the Kinect hype might fade like the Wii (Sports and Fit hype) has faded in the last 1-2 years.

microsoft would have lost this gen in NA if it wasnt due to price points. we will have to see next gen how things pan out as i seriously doubt sony will release a $600 console

The 360 may be in the lead now, but the Wii is still ahead by quite a margin, and will likely stay ahead when all is said and done. The 360 may get within 2-3mil in the US alone of the Wii, but it hasn't 'won' yet, even if it is the most dominant ATM.

So yes, it's very easy. Look at the PS2-PS3, and (what seemed to be) the DS-3DS, although it seems as though that's all under control now.

Sorry, double post.

The huge brainwashing marketing effort required to do it isn't even barely recouped elsewhere (Dance Central 2 advertising, for example, cost just in Italy more than its total revenue, let alone profit, in the whole Europe), but it is quite largely in USA and UK.