So many threads generally about the same topic :(

the 8 million gap seems like it could very well happen. with the 3rd party and 1st games, sony has coming in 09 and in 10, they will be in good shape. but also m$ will be in good shape with its 1st party games and its 3rd party support it has as well. the battle between sony and m$ will get really heated when the ps3 hits the $250 price range and most if not all the 360 models hit the $250 price range(by then the arcade will be $149).

This gen makes me think games dont even matter, but price and the name wii do..

@leo-j

I think price and perception are the only thing that has ever mattered in any portion of the consumer market.

@OP

I think you are pretty much in the ballpark. PS3 really has no chance of keeping it close this year in tearms of sales. Like you mention the deals on 360 are just to good to pass up right now, and to tell the truth I am very pleased with that.

Personally I would much rather see people spending money on the PS3 as I see it as a better investment for consumers, and buisnesses. But to me it is much better seeing that PS3 and 360 sales are keeping the Wii below 50%, than it would be to see the Wii selling 75% of the consoles while PS3 just nudges past 360.

As long as the PS3 and 360 continue to make HD gaming a more valuable market to the publishers and devlopers that is were the games are going to be. At the moment the userbases on each HD system are close enough that both are going to get every big hit that comes out and that is one of the most imporatnt parts of a system staying viable.

To chime in on the possability of 3rd place for the generation I also want to add my name the the list of folks who understand that it is not all that bad. I feel the worst the PS3 can do is the combined sales of the Cube and Xbox, and that is very good. Sure many will say Sony lost first place and a ton of market share, but I think that is beyond the point. Sony went into this generation with a strong brand name, and they went ahead and took a chance. They could have easly made a cheap console with off the shelf AMD/Nvidia graphics card, kept DVD, and sold it at $299 at launch, and taken this generation no problem. Instead they gave the customers that decided to stick with them the best console on the market today, and by quite a large margin.

Right now the most important thing for the PS3 is that Sony stops bleeding money on the system. It has done a great job of building a strong foundation for the future of the brand, and the company. As far as this generation goes first place is not worth going for and getting into a mess with MS for second is a very bad idea. The best thing Sony can do is work as hard as possible to start making money on each unit sold, and go into the next generation with a nice reiteration of the PS3 using a new Cell+decent GPU, and faster Blu-ray drive.

For any people out there worried that this is the end for Sony, don't crap your pants. As long as Sony sticks with the $399 price tag until they can drop the price and stay profitable they will be fine. If they stay profiatable the awsome 1st party games can contiune to get the amount of care they need pumped into them, and as time marches on and price cuts occur sales will pick up. Remember last gen the PS2 sold 120m with the box and the cube below 25m. This generation is a much differant race, and each competitor has enough to live happly for quite a while.

I think this generation is going to last a long time as each company will be doing great, and making money. Really this is nearly as good as having a single console market.

Wow. Its so refreshing to see some of the hardcore PS3 fans finally ACCEPTING a 3rd place finish THIS GEN. You see what I did? I said "THIS GEN". That's the key. Why?

Because this is the gen where the industry proves it can fully support 3 consoles. While the PS3 looks to be destined for a 3rd place finish, as some have pointed out such a finish may still be far better than most 2nd place finishes in previous gens. This gen has more parity in many ways.

The only major downsides I see to this gen is that the consoles came out at prices that weren't friendly for purchase for most people and the difficulty that MS and Sony have had in being profitable due to the 'sell at a loss' approach.

@Darth Tigris

Your one worry is why I think it is in everyones best interest to let the current generation play out for loner than we expect. Microsoft, and Sony are just starting to make a bit of profit, and nintendo is good for a while. Third parties need the time also to regain their losses. Waiting a bit longer to release the next generation of consoles will allow for greater gains in techonlogy, while being able to keep the hardware cost lower.

Dude...if anything this gen shows that games, online and innovation matter. Not bluray and brand name...which seems that were the only 2 aces Sony had this gen.

@disolitude

I am not going to make a list, but the PS3 does have the games it needs already. Sony has plenty of exclusives that are very good, and worth playing. Just because a game does not sell 3 to 5 million does not mean it is worse than another first party game that does. As far as third party goes, Sony has not Lost an exclusive this gen. The games still come out on PS3, so just because they also come out on 360 that does not mean they are exclusive like some seem to believe.

This generation is like every other generation before it. Price point and hype sell consoles, games do little to change the direction the market decides to take. Last gen the PS2 hit $199 fast and included DVD, this gen Wii started at $249 and had Motion and now 360 is at $200 with Live and Netflix. The gimicy things are what sell to the mainstream. Once PS3 hits $199 a whole new market opens to it, and all the sudden Home and Blu-ray are the talk of the town. Games sell gamers on buying consoles. For the rest it comes down to what the console does besides gaming that really matters.

 so true

I think the gap could be even bigger...the PS3 is being pounded lately. I havent helped its cause...