Easy, PS3 is designed/built better, PLAYSTATION is a well known brand, PLAYSTATION has well known classic game franchises, and Blu-ray winning 'format war' has/is helping loads.

But 360's 'RROD' will be the 360's brands downfall. 360 sales are declining sharply cos of it.

are we still trying to compare a 300$ console to a 400$ console? cheaper one should win right?

PS3 is a much more reliable console than X360. PS3 has large fan base in Europe which aid in the PS3 hardware sales. New exclusive games arriving on PS3. Continued momentum of PS3 hardware sales with the introduction of 40GB model which has just recently been upgraded to 80Gb a week ago.

 ya it is and if you think it isnt doing well in japan the 360 sells like 4 consoles a year

quite frackly it is a useless luxury but people tend not to no whyat they need so they buy the highest quality ex: y buy a 17 megapixel camera if the quality looks as good as a 9 mp

the games r bettr on ps3 this year hands down

and just imbrace that the ps3 cannot stop the ps3

Blue-Ray...

Well Playstation is still bigger brand then Xbox, and that is the biggest factor, people while looking for new console might be directed by their previous systems like PS2. Also PS3 is heavily marketed.

Better lineup of games also helps, year ago there was not many good titles on the PS3. Now there is MGS4 and GTA IV for example, it's still not as much as on X360 but it's getting better.

360 is very unreliable, knowing about RROD many people don't want to buy this console, some of them dont have a clue about MS 3 year warranty.

I think blu ray has some impact, but not as big as some people think, Blu ray is still a minor thing compared to normal DVD.

But in conclusion, MS are still doing great, i mean no one expected that they will be 5 milion ahead in this generation going into year 2009. They are establishing their brand, and getting fans and developers behind the console. PS3 still has a lot to do to get to 2nd place. Because Wii is beyond range of HD consoles.

because 2008 is the year for ps3 and 2009 will be there year as well

PS brandname, free online and blu ray makes sense. Most people i talk to are just blind fans of the PS brand name, kinda like how ppl dissed the DC in the PS2 era, even though at that point the DC was superior.

I´m one of the people who bought a ps3 this year and I gonna tell my reasons:
When the ps3 came out I was lured by the marketing, I was one of the people who said to themselves "i gotta get this thing". This is what marketing is all about. The x360 may be a better game playing plataform and the wii remote may be really fun to use, but the marketing got me. SO when a year latter i go in a work experience trip to the US, I get my opportunity to get it.
First- It was to expensive before. If the price hasn´t came down I probably would leave empty handed or would get a x360.
Reason number 1 price cut
Second- It got the bluray, the new tech. X360 got the hddvd. The bluray wasn´t a winner yet, so I made a bet.
Reason number two - bluray
third- I had a perception(Diferent from facts, perception is how the product image gets to you) that the ps3 was the best machine.
Reason number three Brand power and strong marketing.(ps.: I live in Brasil, so the marketing here is different from waht you get abroad)
Fourth- I almost got a x360 for it´s games, cause at the time (jan 08) the ps3 hasn´t gotta many and the x360 looked really good. The thing is I wanted to get the god of war3, since I played the God of W2. this sole exclusive got me.
reason 4 sony exclusives, one got me, but MGS4 got other people, GT5 more, and so on.
So that were the reason why I got a ps3, instead of a x360, even though the white machine was cheaper. They matched Happy Squirrel reasons why the ps3 outsold the x360, so I think more people had my ideas.
I gotta confess that, given the money, I would get all three consoles, so to experience all the good games, but I had to choose only one, and the reasons are above. You make think I commited a mistake, but that´s my experience and it´s a done thing, can´t go back.
Ah many maybe thinking why I didn´t include the wii in my options. I ´m originally a pc gamer, strategy ones, so I´m used to good graphics and difficult gameplay. So you may see that a console that´s announced by everyone (except nintedo, wich is ironic) as casual and made for the nongamer, with easy gameplay and cute graphics didn´t appeal to me. The adult games, like conduit are coming now. If you like wii, great, but it´s not my thing.