B4 the 07 price cut, everyone thought that 100$ cut wouldn't be enough to help the PS3... it did.
B4 the 08 price cut on the 360, many PS3 fans were saying that the PS3 would still stay ahead of it.... it didn't.

I'm 100% positive that if MS does not react in some big way, the PS3 will outsell the 360 from release and onward for the most part [perhaps a few big 360 exclusive release weeks].

I personally will be very shocked because I remain under the assumption that the Playstation brand is by far more powerful then the Xbox brand. If the PS3 is outsold by 360 from now on out then obviously people want the 360 over PS3.

It's basically same price point now for both consoles with the 360 having another stripped down version but that is it. Personally at the same price I have always been under the impression that PS3 would outsell 360 but now we shall see. I have absolutely no doubt though that the PS3 will outsell 360 in Japan and others from now on in. NA is Xbox land though and I doubt the PS3 price drop will change anything.

Even in third place PS3 gets most 360 games anyway and vice versa so I don't really care TBH. PS3 will keep on getting games and so will 360 so just e-penis growth for Sony fanboys. That said I want Gran Turismo 5 to sell enough for GT6 to be made which I think will happen. >_>

The xbox brand is stong in the US though, Sony has destroyed their reputation in this country. I see a boost, but with Halo, Gears, I don't see ahuge change.

I would be surprised. The first months after a massive price-cut + a new model are a no-brainer. But the interesting thing to watch is the long-term effect. So if it turns out to not outsell the Xbox360, that would be it for the PS3 chances to become 2nd. Sony has NO cards to play left. All the big franchises are released, we have got the slim and the pricecut MUST hurt sony bad. I am really looking forward to the numbers they will report. A profitable PS3 is not possible. So there can't be a wait untill, because there is none.

And I think a Elite + Halo ODST bundle could work very well for MS.

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I think the people posting something like "won't happen anyway!" should be banned for 1 day. The op made it more than obvious.

Anyone notice a increased presence of what could be called summer soldiers and sunshine patriots?
You know those who have been missing from the ranks for eight or nine months, or suddenly came out of nowhere. Often enough knowing things they ought not know. Does anyone have any ideas as to how these folks will behave.

For those who don't understand the reference. They are people that only fight for the cause when the going is easy, or when they feel certain of victory. When things go badly they put down their arms, and kind of melt into the background. Kind of like the guy who never gave a crap about the local sports team until they started to win a lot, and it looked like they may get a title. Then out of nowhere he is the biggest fan around. A real love them and leave them kind of guy.

Anyway with a lot of them on the forums now, and the fact that they have little to no backbone. How do you think they would respond. Definitely a wild card here.

@dodece - I see a lot of similarities between what is happening now, and what occurred this time last year after the 360's price cut. Many of the most ardent 360 fan accounts were created after September, 2008. It is human nature. I think you are right, we will see an increasingly pro-Sony presence on this site after sales increase. I hope that current PS3 fans do a much better job in policing the new users than what occurred last year.

The 360 will have it's periods but I seriously doubt it will outsell the PS3 most of the time. I believe in the Playstation brand, not necessarily for it's quality but for it's fame and nostalgic. People planning to get a HD console will get a PS3 instead of a 360, unless ofcourse they are interested in 360 exclusives or have friends who own a 360. But those groups are lost to Sony even if they drop the price to 100 dollars. So honestly as a 360 owner I can't see the 360 outsell the PS3, atleast not in Europe and Japan. But Sony might screw up the marketing again, if they do so badly then the response will be outrage. Towards Sony and towards the Wii/Xbox fanboys who are making joke topics about it. But I really can't see it happening. I B_E_L_I_E_V_E in the PS3 Slim even though I don't want to own one.

reminds me of late 2008.

Price doesn't matter it is the games. If the PS3 at 499$€ could sell more than the Xbox 360 for months simply by a game called MGS4 then people must have known already that games are more important.

@dbot

I actually observed an entirely different phenomena. The ranks had two booms followed be a very massive bust. First with the announcement the ranks increased. Then with the holidays the ranks increased again. After six months however the ranks not only collapsed, but they fell to a lower level then existed to any point prior to the announcement.

There is a downside to the success, and that is once a solid victory is achieved members begin to leave in droves. The first to leave are mid level long time supporters who are vindicated, and who do not necessarily want to pile it on as it were. Then the late comers also tire of the sport. Specifically due to the fact that the other side is crippled, and cannot provide a any adequate form of defense. So they pull back from the engagement. No enemy means no sport.

The end result is then a very small very dedicated base. With little motivation to continue any form of assault on the opposition. They are basically fat, happy, and unconcerned. All of which makes them really kind and nice. At best you get little spurts of posting, but no real momentum posting.

So if history repeats itself look around at all the Sony loyalists prior to this announcement. They were highly motivated, and very much aggressive. Six months from now if the scenario plays out as some of them think it will you will half as many people then as you do now, and they are not going to be quite so vocal. Hell the opposition ranks will probably begin to rebuild in response to the conflict.

I wouldn't call the accounts made after the price cut last year ardent. I would call them what I said previously Summer Soldiers. They saw a opportunity to beat the crap out of people, and they joined in on the side that would do the beating. The most ardent accounts are the longer accounts. They are just less stupid or confrontational as a rule. Ardent members will actually go out to accumulate data, or look to deeper insights.

Now if it doesn't happen as most suspect this year then I have no clue at all what will happen. The debate can get real good if both platforms get close to one another, but if the PS3 doesn't manage to get into that area then I don't know. Even die hard fans need some motivation to keep going at some point. Perhaps the PS3 fan base would just go straight to deflation. Which is not necessarily bad either, because you get left with only the alphas, and they put up a real good argument.