The 360 exceeded my expectations by a lot. I can't speak on the PS3 because I don't own one. However, that probably does tell you something right there.

PS3: Hasn't, and almost certainly never will, come anywhere NEAR the expectations.

Xbox 360: In almost every respect (sales, game numbers, game quality, profitability) it has exceeded expectations, with the glaringly obvious exception of hardware reliability.

I'm completely happy with the 360. The improvement over last gen has been massive in terms of game selection. I couldn't have cared less about the Xbox, but they've made a fan out of me this generation. XBLA is just the shit.

I feel I'd be lying by omission if I didn't say I kick myself sometimes for having shelled out $500 on the PS3. Especially when I look at the slew of 360-only/multiplatform games coming out in the next several months. I've gotten to spend woefully little time with it so far. On the other hand, PS2 backwards compatibility is a must have for me, and looking down the road to LittleBigPlanet, Valkyria Chronicles, inFamous, Heavy Rain, etc., I know I won't be ignoring it for much longer.

For all the ridiculous fanboyism it's brought out in people, the competition between the two has so far been nothing but a boon. I don't think I'd be nearly as happy a gamer if these two hubristic, assholish companies weren't constantly trying to one-up each other. I think the only area in which they haven't lived up to expectations has been sales.

Yeah, both are living up to (my) expectations. Great games on both consoles, that is all that matters. ;)

I can't say any console disappoints, because aside from a few notable games, what else can we really expect? Did anyone honestly believe DVD's were going to be "outdated" in 2008, 5 years ago? or did anyone foresee Resistance and Gears of War? What about the importance of HDD and online play? seeing as how neither was huge last gen, we surely couldn't have expected them to be important this gen.

In terms of sales though:
360 exceeds expectation, because it'll outsell the original xbox by a far margin and continue to increase MS market share.

PS3 is well below expectations, as it couldn't continue the momentum the PS1 and PS2 had over the last decade and a bit. Not saying it's a failure or anything, but purely from a Playstation perspective, it is a relative failure to the extremely high bar that the last 2 consoles set. Obviously subject to change, but does anyone honestly believe PS3 will hit 100 million this gen? (this gen being as long as 360 and Wii remain the flagship consoles for their respective companies) let alone the 120+ million that the PS2 achieved

2 weeks ago i would have said only the 360 lived up to the hype
but i just purchased heroes season 2 on blu ray and im loving it

As a gamer that was hammered with HD this HD that next gen graphics this next gen graphics that, then no they both have not delivered based on the simple fact that most games are not 1080 rez and thus not as the consoles were broadcasted to be: killer graphical machines.... which with online is the only difference with previous generation in the games.

They are a notch up, but they could have been better, so NO they did not deliver.

Both 360 and Ps3 are losers in this gen.

what a Wii........

The 360 has easily surpassed my expectations. I don't have a ps3 so I can't comment for or against it...

For me? No way in hell, especially the PS3 has been a huge letdown (almost as big as the Wii). Ironically, the one console I favoured the least in the beginning of the gen has turned out to offer the best experience (so far).
This is truly a lose, lose lose gen for me; high price and nothing to play, low price and nothing to play paired with useless control scheme or hardware that can explode upon sight.
There's a reason why my PC has become my platform of choice lately.