Nothing is killing your hobby lol.  The PS3 and 360 aren't going away, they just won't be close to dominant.  Ask 20 million Nintendo fans if being in last place makes the system any less fun (for the record, it doesn't).  I had a PS2, an Xbox, and a Gamecube last generation.  My Gamecube was my favorite though, despite being in last place.  Then the PS2 then the Xbox.  Despite being my least favorite last generation, I can't wait to get an Xbox 360 this generation.  You just got too used to being the market leader.

As far as gaming in general goes, honestly if SOMEONE didn't change something, the market would have gone stagnant this generation and gaming would have declined to being as niche as Dungeons and Dragons.  The Wii has saved gaming in a sense.  It needed to be done.  It's not going to kill off the core gamer though.  No worries Konnichiwa.  Just sit back, enjoy the games, and take an interest in the sales.  That's what I do :) 

Depends,

Will the PS3 go down, and how will it. Will Madden help?? By the release of Metroid Prime 3; the Wii might have it.

There's not an 80k difference...there's a 42k difference. Remember that this week's European numbers are already posted, but American and Japanese aren't. That increases the gap, artificially, by the 37k units that the PS3 sold in Europe this week. The sales difference over the last three weeks (ie, since the price drop) have been 18k in favour of the PS3 (HSG5 in Japan), 9k in favour of the Wii, and tied. Given that the PS3 is (slowly) declining in America as the price cut effect wears off and that the HSG boost in Japan is clearly unsustainable, this could happen sooner than you think.

It's anybody's guess what happens once the fall starts, but I think Nintendo's goal was to ship 22.5m units by March...that works out to (probably) 19.5m units by the year's end. History tells us that about 40% will be allocated to America, so that's 7.8m units shipped here, of which an extremely high percentage will (probably) sell. You're free to think what you want about PS3 sales in the fall, but that seems a bit high to me.

 It was growing and why would it decline?

I don't know ...

Maybe you should ask Japan why people stopped buying games and why only the Nintendo DS reversed this trend

oh konnichiwa, are you still on this "nintendo left the hardcore" trip? it starts getting on my nerves, and you should better start being less selfish now.

 seriously, there is no prove yet that nintendo is doing something different from what they did last gen only that they are also releasing some titles that appeal to non-gamers. even if they would produce less purist titles, third parties would fill that hole because there is a bigger Wii install base than the Cube used to have.

Anyway, I think we have discussed this cause often enough, so stop bringing it up please.

I have nothing against people that change their opinion, but I hate it if they argue on one side for months and then they suddenly change their opinion and can't leave something good on their old point of view. especially such people should understand that there are different ways to look at things, so they should accept the other ways.

 This not only goes for konnichiwa, but also for former-WiiGirl76 Onna76.

If it does happen, which I doubt, it would last long. The PS3 WW sales are starting to be greater then that of the Wii US sales. However, it's a great spot for the Wii to be selling more in one area then the competition is WW.

LOL. I never thought I would have seen the day.

System sales were growing, software sales were not.  The Japanese market was in a huge dive, and the American market would have been if not for Halo.  Gaming was constricting to one small age demographic.  Think about what would have happened if the Wii hadn't existed:

This generation would have started with a $400 and a $600 game console, and that's it.   That is a ridiculously large jump in price from the last 2 generations.  The pricing and the narrow demographic appeal would have killed gaming this generation.  There would have been no game systems to appeal to kids.  There would have been no games systems to expand the mass market into adults.  The market would have constricted and stagnated.  Every generation game systems would have gotten more expensive and appeal to smaller and smaller groups of people.  Something HAD to change.

Leo-j - Had you left out the /sarcasm your post would indeed be correct. Mario is the most well known video game franchise around, that is undeniable. Had the PS3 got GTAIV coming out for Christmas then the games would be more even. Casual gamers vastly outnumber core gamers and dictate overall sales, how many have heard of Heavenly Sword or Uncharted?

With Halo 3 the 360 has a higher profile release this Christmas than the PS3 as well.

@ Xyrax,

Thanks for backing me against the troll.