You took everything I said completely out of context. It's not even funny. =)

I don't think drops show demand. Obviously if a console is sold out then drops occur due to short supply. Also, supply issues (mostly in NA) were sorted out by the 2nd week of January. =)

Don't even go back to the "is it fair..." thing. I clearly stated that I used Total Others, and clearly stated that one had to adjust Other sales because of the early Hong Kong release. I then switched to Europe only to eliminate the need to do so. =)

The price cut won't help this weeks sales, if there's even a price cut. =)

I can't say how much that game will sell because I don't really make predictions, and I don't even know the game nor know anything about it. =)

I am leaving this thread, which is too bad for you because it seems I'm the only one that's actually reading it. And it's not that I don't believe in the PS3 success, I even tried to show how it's not doing as bad as a lot of people say, but everytime I do, you simply quote me wrong. Have fun comparing the sales. Everyone else (which might not be anyone) who wants a different angle on comparisons, can download the comparisons I have available in my sig. =)))

Farewell. Atleast now you understand why this thread is fair. =)
I`m just showing, just like you did. ;) And there is nothing bad in hoping, that ps3 will perform in 2008 as good as ps2 in 2001. =)

 yeah you still don't get that even though Sony wishes that the PS3 is a long term product... the market won't react like that..... with probably a new console for nintendo around 2010 or 2012 and same for MS... Sony's wishes are far from granted.... what i'm saying the more time goes the less hope they have.... they did a big mistake thinking they can sell a $600 piece of equipement just on brand name when it comes to gaming.... they are paying the price now... by 2010-2011 it will be too late... you could release ExiStenZ on it, it wouldn't change the shape of the market....

right now articles talking about a come back of PS3 are morons.... they didn't prove anything beside that with a price cut before chrismtmas in europe where it's there first holiday you can outsell MS.... and recommending only buying one console is even more moronic... first off a journalist telling me just one console is good I dump the magazine right away... even if he says that about XB... it's totally biased and reduce greatly his credibility... without saying that a market with one single product is not competitive and it's not in favor of us consumers...

PS3 is still officially doomed... there is no insubstantial evidence of the opposite yet... which makes me agree with you on one point we'll see clearer at the end of 2008, thing I have been saying for ever but I'm sorry right now you can only rely on hope for PS3 nothing substantial can be used to sustain that PS3 we'll be doing good... not even big game names... 

now when you tell me quality hardware and software make a brand name.... I'm sorry it's true and not true at the same time.. it might make the brand name but not the sales... i'm pretty sure everybody agrees to say MS windows is not the bast soft in the world and it's number one though.. same with a lot of products... and I'm sorry but in hardware... beside really expensive high end product and professional hardware.... Sony is far from being a quality company... it is in the head of consumer but the fat prove the opposite... I can give 2 areas where they are good and that's it.... high end camcorder and high end lcd and even on the last one I could argue it... but they hold an acceptable good quality... almost everything else can be qualified of poor or over priced....

So I agree with you by the end of 2008 we will see if PS3 can hope to come back in the race..... until then wait and see... but the past experience of the market and the fact that nobody has subtential economical facts is not showing a lot of positiv for PS3.... not even big titles coming in june.... they need a bump in every quarters if they want to come back... the three main franchise everybody name.... have really little chance to give the momentum needed... they'll sell console but will they sustain the momentum??? I honestly don't think so... except if MS totally blew which I highly doubt...

you are all talking about what Sony will do to save PS3, you are all totally forgetting what Nintendo will do in 2008 to keep the WII frenzy going, and what MS will do for XB to counter Sony.... and you can mark my word you'll have competition... what you have seen this year for XB is just the start the future will be even better in term of line up I'm deeply convinced of it... and PS3 will have a lot of competition purely in term of game for a long while to come...

Anyway this generation (WII,PS3,XB) will all reach level of gaming experience never reached before and that my friends should be all we need to be happy as gamers... 

o gawsh

that is a long post...
maybe i read tmrrw

I believe there were only 100.000 PS3 for Japanese launch.

Sony's net turnover was actually almost 40% larger last year than MS', and they had roughly the same net profits in 2006. Microsoft has a very narrow financial corridor compared to Sony because of the nature of their primary products; software.

The software market is very unstable and fluxuating, whilst the hardware market (which is what Sony primarly is) is a lot more stable. If the markets dip, MS could loose 1/4 of it's entire estimated net worth overnight, while sony has 13-14 divisions spread out over a heap of various goods and products. So, while MS' net worth looks staggering, they can't spend money like crazy because of it (like many seem too believe lately)! Their financial margins are of such a nature and size, that they in reality can't spend more than Sony, they've just chosen to allocate their funds in other areas and have made different priorities.

My fathers bussiness (carpenter workshop specializing in stairs and kitchens) is worth an estimated 15 million NOK. However, last years turnover was a little over 5 million NOK and the net profits post-tax were 700.000 NOK. The last figure is the one that sets the company's course overall, not the first. See? 

@endimion,
1) 12 mln. ps2 sold in 2006. 9 mln. ps2 sold in 2007. And that is more then ps3 or x360 did in those years.
God of war 2 sold 2 mln. in 2007. So as long as developers will create great games for ps3, it will be on the market for a long time, no matter what competitors. =)
Btw, it`s stupid to IGNORE ps2 sales in market share. In 2007 there were sold 9 mln. ps2 and i`m 90% sure, that those people didn`t buy Wii or x360.
VGChartz Hardware data for the period 07th Jan 2007 to 30th Dec 2007:

So, from 41 mln. home consoles sold, 41% are Sony made.

2) BUT they make positive effect on PS3 BRAND.

3) then x360 is dead, because PS3 is outselling x360. =))

4) all the ps3 need, is pricecut, MANY people will buy ps3 for 299$. =] PS3 already provide GREAT gaming experience.

5) Wii for now have only 2 Big exclusive BRAND tittles, while ps3 in 2008 will have over 10, x360 also 3-4 games only.

Don't know about all your other points, but I've got to say that your fourth point (all the ps3 needs, is a pricecut, MANY people will buy ps3 for 299$.) has some potential to be correct. I mean, look what happened after Sony got the PS3 down to $399... (and don't say that was all the holiday season.....holiday season on Nov 12? ... give me a break)

Also, a lot of you guys should save this thread on your computers, you'll have 70% of your doctoral thesis written right there...

WHOA. The PS2 was not more powerful than the GameCube... not even by a long shot... I suppose. The best specs I can get for the two are:

Basically, it was PS2 * 1.5 = GameCube * 1.5 = Xbox, or something close to that. Since the Wii is 2 GC duct tape together, the Wii is 1.3 times more powerful than the Xbox

Also, the RAM for the GameCube was bonded together, so that the developers could use all of it anyway they wanted. Want more RAM for AI and such? Go ahead, and less will be available for GPU then. It allowed developers who didn't need RAM for GPU things to use it instead for other things. It was also suppose to make developing "easier" I suppose, at least that's what I've read. Either way, the GameCube beats the PS2 in every area except BUS speed, though since it could process stuff faster, it wouldn't make too much of a difference.

Also, when you say "lower price point" I suppose you mean "lower than the PS3 price point" because the GameCube was $100 cheaper than the PS2, and the PS2 didn't have a pricecut in the US for 1.5 years or so after it launched. Then when the PS2 did drop to $199, the GameCube dropped to $149, and by the start of the GameCubes third (yes THIRD) year, had dropped to $99, while the PS2 has yet to get there. For the record, the PS2 dropped to $179 around the time the GameCube dropped to $99. I can't say for the Xbox. But I think that proves my point.

I got all these figures from Wikipedia, but I have done multiple google searches, and found other sources that back them up. Either way, you can take it with a grain of salt if you wish.

@retrasado: not that price cuts don't effect a consoles' sales, and not that the previous price cuts were all holiday, but looking at Others data for when the 40 GB PS3 was released, you can see that the numbers were quickly dropping to only slightly above previous levels, before the holiday appears. Yes, it did spike, but so will every other console that ever gets a price cut. It didn't save the GameCube, and it had many price cuts in it's first 2 years, which now that I look at it, is very similar to the PS3 price cuts. I'll say for simplicity that the PS3 had one price cut, from $499 to $399 in it's first year, and will have one this year, to $299. The GameCube had one it's first year, from $199 to $149, and then a second at the end of it's second year, to $99, which it has been since then. Obviously the PS3 has some more price cuts after the one we get this year. Yes, it'll boost sales, no joke. But how much? Probably not enough.

 90% of the PS2 sales are from people that won't be buying a Wii, X360, or a PS3 until 5 or 6 years from now.  They're buying it because it's cheap and there's a HUGE library of very cheap games to boot.  These people won't have any affect on any of the current gen systems in the next several years other than possible ports to the Wii from PS2(which are usually crap, but that isn't the point).  With very little affect on the current generation, there is no reason to include PS2 sales in market share.