Are we talking about the Wii?  Wii came out after PS3 didn't it?

You can't use facts in this discussion.

Pretty impossible question for us gamers, because it's the recipe for fanboy-wars and people will drum up all kinds of arbitrary arguments, mostly based on personal preference. Nothing really wrong with that, but really you must look at such a statement from the casual point of view instead.

I'd say I agree that 'PlayStation' has become synonimous with console hardware for a couple generations now. The face of gaming, the essence of what a video game is to the common people, is still undoubtedly 'Mario'.

About as iconic in the US, way more iconic everywhere else.

not in Europe ;)

I think it's more iconic at this point. When someone thinks of a gaming console now, they think of a playstation console or an xbox console.

The issue here is that we are all gamers and our views are skewed by this. Looking at the entire population (all people, not just gamers), Nintendo is a fucking million times more iconic than Sony.

Thats true but I dont think the opinion of the common people who probably dont even game anymore bears anywhere near as much weight as people who are gamers today and have evaluated both brands recently, and as OP mentioned, whose opinions are not impacted by nostalgia. I say that because they are the ones spending the money and influencing the market, not people who would probably also still speak highly of Sonic.

There was a time when Nintendo was more iconic, but right now its playstation.

You wouldnt say something like that on a car racing forum or a 'how the universe was created' thread would you? So why do you do us gamers injustice by involving people who probably dont even play games anymore or played mario once in their life?

What? All I'm saying is that to look at icons, you have to look at the whole population. That's how it works.