The SNES and Sega Gensis were tied in the US in April 1992.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3092/is_n11_v31/ai_12243994/

SNES released August 2001.

Gensis released in August 1989.

The USA was 50% of Sega's sales.

In 6 months the SNES caught up with the System ahead of it... in it's largest market.  Impressed?

Also.  For the PS1?  Seriously... comparing PS1 with PS3.  I mean the SNES looks poorly compared to the PS3 too.

Compare it vs the Dreamcast... and you get a different result.  Which is the correct comparison since it matches the question asked.

http://vgchartz.com/hwlaunch.php?cons1=PS&reg1=Japan&cons2=PS&reg2=Japan&cons3=DC&reg3=Japan&weeks=156

The PS3 is in a much better place than most think. Price cut and a tone of killer apps this year and next will shake things right up. Cannot wait to see the haters squirm then.

Fixed...

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OP: DS started slow until the DS Lite... PS1 at least in Japan started slow (and the Saturn beating it)... SNES didn't start slow, it faced competition but it was never slow...

Concerning the bold, thanks for the sources. I was simply curious on that one, although I don't think the SNES released in 2001. Interesting typo though!

I don't see what's wrong with comparing the PS1 to the PS3. It's not that hard to realize that the PS1 started out slowly in Japan. The SNES does not look bad compared to the PS3. It started out more quickly and grew and grew until the gap was huge. I don't get your Saturn comparison either. The PS1 and Saturn were competing neck and neck in Japan for a while, just check some of the older Japan charts. Concerning Japan, it was the Saturn's strongest region by far. The Saturn started off slowly but sold consistently for a while and then fizzled out, while the PS1 started off slowly and continually built up momentum until it became the beast we know today.

I wasn't really paying attention last generation but the SNES didn't start off slow in the least.  The PS1 didn't start off bad, either.

Of course we can look through the actual shipment data if we want.  No console has come back from being far behind to win (at least since the NES).  That doesn't mean it cannot be done.

How can they both have started off slowley?

He asked if one console started off slower then it's competitors then made a comeback vs those who had the lead.

The PS1 obviously does not fit this critera as the PS1 matched the Saturn in it's best region by far.

Also damn.  I didn't know the SNES was that much of a beast.

The right question might not be whether a console started slowly and then won the generation, since early sales may be more determined by how well-established the brand is, so a new entrant (like PS1) might have a slower launch than an established brand (like N64). The right question is whether a console has ever overtaken a significant LTD install base gap, and to that, the answer is no.

Yeah, but you posed a different qualification. You didn't claim that one console had to start off more quickly or slowly than another, all you stated was that the PS1 started off quickly out of the gate. I was arguing that claim. As you can see, I provided evidence that the PS1 did indeed start off slowly in Japan and then I asked you if you had any evidence that the PS1 started off quickly in America or Europe. I'm still waiting.

No he stated that in the OP.

"Am I completely wrong, or is it safe to assume that getting a fast start for a particular generation is very important, and almost essential to long-term success? Has any console ever started out way behind after 2 years and then turned it around over the next 2-3 years?"

If your arguement is neither system got off to a fast start.... and therefore none did that generation.  Then it's impossible to draw any conclusion from this.

Worldwide, the SNES did trail the Genesis for awhile, but eventually caught on and won.  Usually it doesn't happen though.  The problem the PS3 faces is SOMEHOW it has to pitch to the same market the 360 is pitching to, while also getting people to see that it is justified in costing more.  Screaming games isn't going to do it either.  Somehow it has to be Blu-Ray makes all the difference and do that it is markedly superior to the 360 enough that people pay the difference AND do it before the next XBox comes out, which will end up making the PS3 look like old news.

Even then, games and price alone, and specs aren't the issue.  The 360 is less expensive than the Wii, and has a wider range of games that are considered AAA, but the Wii sells more.  This is because the Wii does things unique.