that is true. sony had its back up against a wall. i don't think it's accurate to say they were finished were it not for the slim, but that debate is academic and irrelevant. suffice it to say they NEEDED the slim.

microsoft is not nearly in the same peril as sony, but the danger they face is being seen as out of the competition by the buying public.

it's kind of like what would happen if coke stopped advertising. it would still be better than pepsi, but people would stop buying it as much because they are stupid. that is what microsoft needs to be worried about. if people get it in their head that the ps3 is the way to go then it will be extremely difficult to maintain their position in the console war.

at this point i think sony is doing everything right to bring this about...now it all falls on microsoft's shoulders to see what they do in response.

The 360 is still on top...I mean when did a 7 million lead become third place? This is what I don't get, PS3 fanboys are allowed to make a speculation that is completely void of sanity and reason, and when I dare to point that out, you have the audacity to say I am being speculative? Did it not occure to you that everything is speculative at this point? Unfortunately for you, my speculation makes more sense than theirs...mainly because it actually has logic behind it. You are assuming slim sales will remain at 200,000 per week, that will not happen.

The wand will not boost sales that much because the average consumer views it as a Wiimote with the Eyetoy. Natal will sell more consoles because it is a new concept and has some pretty large backers in terms of game devs. Everybody I have talked to (even non gamers) are amazed by Natal. My wife, who hates gaming and thinks it's a waste of time and money, wants to get Natal when it comes out. Also, lets not forget all the praise it has been getting from differant media sources. I'm not saying Natal will be absolutely enormous, However, it will be much bigger than the wand. Given that fact, the fact that MS will be releasing a new SKU at the time of the Natal release, and I believe that MS will cut the price on the other SKUs at the time of the Natal launch...tell me again why you think the PS3 can keep up these sales numbers.

I just love it when people use week on week calculations for predictions and then completely forget about the holiday season. Xbox 360 sold 3,5 million units in the 5 top weeks of the holiday season last year, and considering PS3 Slim is selling more week on week then 360 did last year after it's price cut, and counting in the Japanese FXIII launch PS3 might very well top that(wich mean it could sell 4m plus during those 5 same weeks). So considering this by the end of 2009 360's lead will only be 4-5 million max. And people are talking about PS3 catching up by 2012 LOL. How about with GOW 3 and Gran Turismo 5 SUMMER 2010!

Obviously you do, because you just did the same thing. lol

And do you honestly think the PS3 can close a 7 mil gap with two games that will be countered by MS's lineup?

Funny ironman, maybe you should read the whole sentence before trying to post a smart comment? Maybe Summer 2010 is a ''optimistic'' scenario, but end of 2010 for sure. And Microsoft doesn't have anything to counter with, games like Halo Reach do not launch before the end of next year.

The way in which you presented your argument indicated that you were assuming that two games would close the gap, and that the PS3 would forever after, be the 2nd place console (assuming of course, that it doesn't have two more huge system sellers that rocket it past the wii) and that the 360 would have nothing to counter.

The whole ''2 games'' argument was only meant as an example to show that PS3 might catch up as soon as mid 2010. Those 2 games are just an extra factor wich will give PS3 an extra boost in the beginning of next year. My main argument still stands, and that is that if you count in the holiday season ps3 will likely make a good jump in sales compared to 360, just like 360 managed last year thanks to it's price cut.

And for Wii, i have always looked at this generation as having 3 system categories, oppossed to the classic 2(consoles and handeld). Those being (hd)Game consoles(ps3/360) handhelds(psp/ds) and Mainstream consoles(Wii, since it's clear Wii opened up a new user base and most Wii buyers not being the usual console buyers.

Well now that is much more reasonable, and something I can agree with.

I have a couple of questions...
1. Why does it matter that one sales more than the other?
2. How does consoles sold correlate to meaning a better machine.

If you really love "Games" Space restriction and/or a phobia of wires is the the only reason for not owning all consoles during the lifespan of each generation.

In the UK most independant mobile phone stores allow you to choose one of the 3 consoles with a contract mobile (i chose PS3). So you can spend around £300 (Wii £169.99, 360 £129.99) and own all 3 consoles (just like me). Then have the best of all worlds, cause lets all admit it together - All 3 consoles have great exclusives.

Most people here should be able to afford that over 6 or so years (lets not forget additional price drops). So why dont we all do something like the above and stop these silly childish posts and discuss something that really matters like -"Why the Atari Jaguar is the best console of all time" or "Is The Sega Saturn the reason behind Global Warming".

I like you already, that is a fabulous first post! Spot on.