Let's see this week!!!

Exactly PS2 isn't over yet and it's going on it's 3rd generation so far lol

Week 3 is up X360 continues it's lead

You can keep selling, but the "race" is actually over.

For example you can argue this gen started in November 2005 with Xbox 360 launching and ended November 2012 with WiiU launching.

That is the "window of relevance", when any victories actually count for something. Anything outside this window is hollow.

Both are selling pretty poorly. The PS3 is closer to the X360 than I expected (weekly)

Gap should be 2.5m-2.7m by Jan 2013

There is no set of rules or guidelines for how a "window of relevance" is applied. This is simply your own personal thoughts or opinions which of course will differ from alot of people on here.

For instance, I know that when X360 passes the Wii in the UK and the USA there will be a thread created about it on this site. Alot of people will post in it and congratulate the X360 for it's "victory" in those specific regions. You might even post in it yourself giving congrats as well. These inevitable threads that will be created won't be (IMO) "hollow victories". They will just be a fact for sales comparisons as numbers don't lie. The same will likely happen with PS3 and X360 with over all shipment numbers. You said it yourself in a previous post that you tire of seeing PS3 on top all year round and now that 360 is on top, "all is right with the world". Just because you don't want it to happen, doesn't mean it won't come to fruition anyway. 

Because you move the goal posts to suit your personal opinion is fine for you, we all get that. But it's still your personal opinion. I would suspect that not many others share this same belief here. You will see it soon enough when 360 passes the Wii in the UK in the very near future and everyone will be saying that 360 was the market leader in the UK. (even after Wii U is released)

My own personal belief is the same as "dsgrue3", it's over when they stop selling or discontinued. That's my defination of the "race".

The gen ends for a console when its next version of its console is out. Sony and Microsoft will duke it out for another  year. Microsoft has only one exclusive left to their name and they can thank EPIC for that. Microsoft first party is spent until next gen.

I do know that the PS3 has been outselling the Xbox 360 since the release of the PS3 "slim." And I believe there was a year after that that the Xbox 360 seemed to have really trounced PS3 sales during the Christmas holiday, but there were major adjustment in favor of the PS3 right into the new year. The biggest advantage the Xbox 360 has over the PS3 this year is the release of Halo 4. Other than that it's reasonable to say that the PS3 will probably outsell the Xbox 360 for 2012.

the definition of a console race is quite simple , and ppl keep making it so difficult in this thread. when a new console is launched to start a new generation the race is then on, and when the other 2 consoles are released the war is truly on. now of course the consoles from the previous generation will keep selling for a good while yet, which are facts. but when a console from a previous generation ends up passing another console from that said generation, yes its a reason to celebrate and enjoy it. but , does it really matter that much, hell no. why, simple because only ppl who care about that console really cares. i like all 3 current consoles, for me in my opinion. which is what this whole paragraph is about. is me just saying that ppl should just enjoy the consoles they like playing on and do that for as long as they still enjoy what that console has too offer. what always makes me sad for all the consoles that are out is ,when ppl are so biased towards a certain console and are always out to trash the other consoles, but for no reason than to show where there loyalty is. a true gamer, just wants to play games and enjoy them, very simple......

And let me add that when a console is still in production regardless of what gen is current, that console must still compete for consumer dollars.  So when next gen starts (and maybe it did with the WiiU) and if both the PS3 and Xbox 360 are still in production, both consoles will still be competing against one another not counting any other consoles on the market at the time.