LOL ... you know, you're my Hero! 

 Good games....J/K.

X360 has the imago of beinig a shooter console.

Americans = Like to shoot   => prefer X360

5 mln in Europe it's no bad score

Because of the RROD, and lack of future potential.

No, it's not doing very well in europe because it's not very good...

ok, sorry, couldn't resist the obvious bait. bad Scruff... *smack*

serious, probably becase it's seen as good, has some great games, but the PS3 is seen as better and with a brighter future. 360 has had it's day and now its the PS3 which is the 'new' thing (ok, not counting the wii).

I don't think we can say it's not popular in Europe, its stillselling pretty damn close to PS3. it's the fact that PS3 has overtaken it there that Americans and some Eu 360 fans are thinking europeans don't like it.

I agree on the games front, but becuase the big games have already come out for the 360 - i mean the Halo3 hype was unbelieveable (really good adds i thought), and Mass Effect and Bioshock. i mean who wouldn't want it?! but they've come and gone, and the PS3 is seen to be offering so much more. Maybe people really do buy consoles for what it will have to offer than what it has already this gen.

and of course there are the 'fun games' that the PS3 has over the 360 which attract a different market (not in the same league as the mighty Wii of course - oh teh irony! mighty wii! sorry - scottish joke).

Reliability problems - it's now been tarnished and i don't think MS is doing enough to fix that. the problems are not as bad as they used to be, bt you get my drift...

cost - its not that much less than a PS3 - there are people out there thinking "i could buy a 360 now.. or i could wait a month longer and get a PS3... and blu-ray player built in..."

which brings me to the last point. Blu-ray is now seen as the defacto victor, PS3 is a sure way to get your gaming pleasure and watch a movie with the mates when eating your pizza (ok, you've seen too much of my life now).

finally, just wondering if te OP is American? wondering only becuase from a European perspective - why does the 360 sell so well there? why isn't the PS3 doing the job on your side of the pond?

just to reclarify my last questions, is the 360 doing so well in the US because it's an American owned company? is the PS3 doing badly becuase its Japanese? just wondering.

I do believe that origin is a factor, just not a big one.

I think price is much more important to anyone than origin.

I'd say its:

Price > Press > Advertising > Games > Origin > PR Statements

Wow ... what a wealth of information you have to add to this convo ... what a tool ...

OT - My sis stayed in Russia and France and said no one owns weapons over there. Here in the U.S., I know several folks with weapons. We have a lot of access to weapons - legal and illegal. If you have $20 and know the right place to go, you can get a weapon.

The right to bear arms is a powerful testament to who we are as a nation. Then, it's no secret that shooting games are the choice of most U.S. gamers. Do I think it's a great idea? No ... look at the workplace shootings and such. Stabbings are one thing - getting blasted at work is something else.

The 360 is trying to move away from being a hardcore console to being a console for the masses. Viva Pinata, Scene It! and Party Animals, as well as more RPGs are attempts to shed the shooter image. Is it working? I dunno ... but MS isn't really concerned at the moment. 

 And you're my Rick Chappelle!

No, it's because Americans are whores and buy the product that offers what they want at the right price.

I think part of MS's struggles in Europe might be due to them competing against Nintendo and Sony, the only two consoles brands that Europeans have bought in decent numbers. While I think brand loyalty is largely BS, a familiar product name does carry weight over the unknown. The RRoD certainly hasn't helped things, either.

The Japanese don't buy it because, well, because they are xenophobic dicks. I kid, I kid... It just doesn't offer the games they want and is still very western-centric. Double that with the RRoD and the emergence of the new casual gamer market in Japan and Microsoft was left standing with their dick in their hand, wondering what the hell happened.