the average person isn't buying the PS3 to begin with though.

 I know this has been stated before, but with so many people holding on to the PS2 (visible by sales) instead of going with the Wii or 360 tells me there are still very many people that have faith in the Sony brand.  This Christmas will be interesting.  People tend to go all out and I would hedge a bet to say the PS3 sells better than anyone anticipates.  (Especially with the fall game lineup)

Andir said: I know this has been stated before, but with so many people holding on to the PS2 (visible by sales) instead of going with the Wii or 360 tells me there are still very many people that have faith in the Sony brand.  This Christmas will be interesting.  People tend to go all out and I would hedge a bet to say the PS3 sells better than anyone anticipates.  (Especially with the fall game lineup)

Sorry, but I'm not buying this logic. The PS2 had the largest console install base in history; it stretches logic to assume that all the PS2 buyers are eagerly anticipating purchasing the PS3. If the huge casual base isn't buying any of the new systems, that doesn't mean that they're holding out for a PS3 - it means that they're unhappy with the current offerings from everyone. Or maybe these people are just waiting for Christmas to arrive. The PS3 has been doing poorly in sales in every major region, through this entire year. I don't know how that translates into "there are still very many people that have faith in the Sony brand." Did you expect the Wii and 360 to sell 50 million units each in their first year on the market?

The notion of brand loyalty is overrated. Brand loyalty didn't stop 30 million NES customers from switching over to the Genesis/Megadrive in the early 1990s, or another 15 million SNES customers from switching to the Playstation. Most consumers have no allegience to any company; they simply buy whatever strikes their fancy. If the PS3 is struggling, it's because most consumers don't want it right now. Nothing more complicated than that. The notion that there is some nebulous pool of "Sony loyalists" who will rise up and purchase the PS3 en masse at a later date is a fallacy. It didn't happen for Atari, it didn't happen for Sega, it didn't happen for Nintendo, and it won't happen for Sony.

Which are obviously not that many.

So you're using the sales of a console, the Wii, which are supply capped to compare to the sales of an established console, the Ps2, which aren't supply capped... with no logic or proof either way to suggest one isn't buying the other? Since the Wii won't be supply capped this Holiday season hopefully, it will be an interesting christmas indeed.