I think the x360 still has momentum in North America and it will gain even more when the elite is released. Of course it never had momentum in japan or europe.

The last generation showed that the japanese doesn't want to own a second console; in fact, the competitor ranked second in japan never even came close to the first one. This situation is different in North America for example, the ps2/n64 race was much closer there than anywhere else.

MGS never moved units in japan; FF probably will, but if the other JRPG's will be released for the wii, it is not the case that every RPG lover will buy a PS3. And it is undoubted that both the N64 and the GC had some of the best games of their generation, most of them used to sell great in japan, but it didn't help to sell more systems over a longer period. I predict the same will happen with FF XIII and the PS3.

Oh, I don't know if the black color is limited. I would guess not, because they are offering wireless controllers and other accessories in black, too :)

I think it's big that Square is carrying over the actual numbers to other systems, the first big spin off being FFXII for the DS. It wasn't like that before. FFXIII universe will likely traverse all platforms (Wii, DS, PSP, PS3, and 360, PS2 maybe, too!).

I know Lair won't go cross-platform, neither with God of War. I was saying 3rd parties (Konami MGS4) would possibly jump cross-platform, and I think MGS4 would be a major loss if it cross-platformed. 

And, I think you are right, HappySquirrel, about this gen vs the last.

Does anyone have a figure of how many Xbox's were sold in it's first year as opposed to the 360? Did the 360 outsell it? And what about Gamecube's start? I hear it is similar to the PS3s WW. 

Will the free playstation network provide the necessary servers to feed third party online games or will it just be a "hub"? I'm not entirely certain on how it all works, but it is my understanding that Microsoft provides the hardware/software infrastructure to host 3rd party games while the Playstation network is a hub and third parties developers that go online will have to provide servers and connectivity to PSN to host the games. Is this an accurate understanding or not?

Kojima explicitly stated that MGS4 will not go cross platform in an article less than a few weeks back.

http://kotaku.com/gaming/go307/feature-talkin-metal-gear-with-hideo-kojima-248695.php

Here is the actual quote if you don't want to read:

"But like I said, MGS4 is aimed for the movie theatre, it's aimed for the PS3, so the game's scenario and graphics need this theatre-type hardware. It's when a producer has a game that can work on the 'DVD level' that a game will go multiplatform"

The "DVD level" he is talking about is the 360. 

An article on Kotaku, which I cannot find because of their horrible search engine, compared the different console launches. The original Xbox significantly outperformed the 360 counting just the first 4-5 months. Halo was the main reason. Rest assured though, the 360 will surpass the original's sales pretty easily.

Theres an article on 1up.com saying that the theres an exclusive DOA aka Dead Or Alive game being made exclusively on the ps3 has anyone else heard this???

if true, DOA would be a pretty big coup for Sony. NG2 would've been bigger, but DOA's good enough. now, Sony needs to work on Too Human, Bioshock, and start begging the folks at Bioware to take notice of the PS3. but the biggest of the three rumors is Mega Man. i've never played the original Mega Man; revamping the graphics and making it a PSN download is right up my alley.

What interests me most is how those two will do in Japan. Obviously, the 360 will never really pick up that much momentum. But if the PS3 keeps floundering over there, there is still a chance that more PS support will go the Xbox way.

Things are looking pretty rough for the PS3 in Japan.  Their current sales stink, the Wii is clearly a run away success, and asside from Final Fantasy, there isn't too much too look forward to in Japan. The system has lost DMC exclusivity and the PS2's highest game Dragon Quest has moved to the DS.

I can't help but wondering if the lack of PS3 support in Japan will shift to the Xbox. Will people finally think that Blue Dragon, TrustyBell, Eternal Sonata and some other Japan focused games are worth the 360 Jump? Will Japanese Dev's finally give the console a decent shot when they realize the PS3 won't deliver the sales they need? Somebody has to pick up the Wii's table scraps.

 I realize that traditionally, Japan has been the smallest of the three markets, But where the Japanese market goes, so goes the Japanese software. And that sure has repercussions everywhere else.

i think ps3 will carry on losing until about august against 360, i reckon though wen halo 3 comes out it will retake the lead in NA and christmas will be close between the two, however 2008 i think ps3 will have a price cut allowing it to take the lead. i also think killzone 2 will be a major disappoint garnering only slightly better reviews than the first game, and halo 3 will be a slight disapointment getting scores of 92-93 rather than 95-96 ie still an awesome game but not matching one and two

also 360 while doing strong in NA is basically very weak everywhere else but the UK, recent french quarter one sales had the PS3 sales at 80,000 wii at 160,000 and 360 at 46,000 i've heard loads of excuses about it only being because of ps3's recent launchbut these figures only cover the tiem from the 1st of january-30th march basically in one week the ps3 doubled 3 months of 360 sales, nd traditionally 2nd year sales are supposed to be higher than launch year