considering the fact that 360 is barely outselling the ps3 despite the fact the cheapest model is half the price of a ps3 i won't assume that 360 will hold 2nd place for long. but however sony needs to do several things if they want 2 top 360 such as

release the slim so price of the ps3 can drop significally, advertise more (i seen very few commericals for ps3 while ps2 i use to see them all the time last gen), their upcoming games/exclusives must live up to its hype (GT5, KZ2, GOW3, Playstation Home, etc). i believe 2009 will determine who will ultimately win the console war

Face it. In the largest market (NA) Xbox 360 trumps the PS3. That will not change this generation and that will keep the numbers close in the end. Anyone suggesting otherwise is ignoring reality.

It goes something like this (for NA) if my friends are all playing on xbox live. Would I A) Get a 360 to join them or B) Get a ps3 and not although you could enjoy some blue ray movies :>

People really seem to forget these important factors when they do this ****

1. People buy what their friends have, install base advantages also help you sell more consoles.

2. The PS3 has to MATCH and then EXCEED the 360s sales. So any increase is offset by whatever the 360 is outselling the PS3 by at the time.

3. The important gap is not what it is right now, but the gap when they can do their price-cut etc to try to turn things around.

4. Sony still has to make a profit on the PS3. Theres no point in beating the 360 if in the end it would have been more profitable to sit the generation out.

5. The games which really sell systems can be counted on one hand. Its pretty much BS to say random exclusive X is going to sell consoles.

So really, we're not talking about a 5 million gap. We're more likely talking about something like a 6.5-7.5 million gap and before they can think of a price cut, the generation is over 9 months older since the PS3 started losing ground since the start of Q3 this year. If there were a maximum of 4 years left in the generation then, its gone down to about 3 and 1/4 years at most and most likely between 1 and a half to 2 and a half years for the PS3 to make any apreciable impression in this "race".

Honestly at this point I dont think Sony is thinking we need to pass the 360. Sony is thinking we need the PS3 to stick close enough to continue to get supported so that the PS3 can slowly become profitable. Do people really think that Sony is going to shoot for #2 and end up still losing money on hardware 3 years into the generation.

An aggressive price reduction early in 2009 just insures that the PS3 will sell for a loss all year long. This holiday season wont help Sony at all if the indicators continue. The big titles this holiday dont look like they will say what was hoped and that just makes the losses on hardware that much harder to swallow.

It was decided in 2007, and it's the Wii.

i hate to tell you this but for a system that is double the it is selling awfully well. remember how well the sales were for the PS3 with the last price cut. wait till it reaches 300 the sales will go crazy . i mean really after this christmas the 360 sales will go down they really can't go any lower with a great profits. if they won't buy it at a 200 then they won't buy it 150 either. also there is to be a PS3 slim will cause a major pricedrop. the 360 is at its peak. all it can do is fall

FYI:  360 beat ps3 in !JAPAN! when ace combat 6 was released - a comparable feat.  The ps3 isn't the ps2 no matter how much fanboys want it to be.  AND, if it were that would be bad for gamers.  Sony's loss this generation is good for you and me:  more options, more multi-platform games, fewer exclusives.  I would even say more creativity from dev's...

Gaming is like politics in this regard, only more fun:  things need to be shaken-up now and then or they get stale...

What makes people so sure that when Final Fantasy 13 comes out, it will be attached to a PS3?

If I was waiting to purchase a system based on FF13, I would pick the Xbox hands down. Mostly because of the game library and Xbox Live service.

FF13 is coming out for the 360, just in case some of you forgot. ;)

The 360 will hold on till the PS3 price drop of 50 in spring next year.Sony will then have a price drop of 50 in late 2009,that will give Sony a huge lift with GT 5,FF13 and God of War 3.