when i was looking at the sales charts a few minutes ago, i noticed the big difference in sales between the 360 and the ps3 in both america and japan.  the 360 has abmysal sales in japan, while the ps3 has only half the sales of the 360 in america.  is it possible that many people prefer buying their home countries consoles? the ps3 has sold well in america especially when compared to how many japan has sold, and the xbox actually isn't all that far behind the ps3 in japan when you look at the total numbers, but i mean all of this in relative terms.  also, hypothetically, is the consoles country of origin was switched, would we see different sales for each one?  please note, this isn't a forum meant for starting a fight, or saying why each console is better than each other.

The Xbox 360 was out a year earlier -- and has until recently been cheaper -- to purchase.

That is the reason for the big sales in the US/NA.

Mike from Morgantown

i dont think the consoels country or origin has anything to do with it. look at the Wii it was developed by a japanese company and its beating out all the other consoles worldwide

The 360 has an otaku image, and that kinda puts mainstream buyers (moms, dads, kids, etc) off.

Well, the Wii destroyed the X360 in NA so there goes that theory.

While some people do prefer to buy products built in their own nation, I would imagine most put quality/price/features first, and then national preference second. The X360 is a western centric system with games that most westerners like (Halo/Gears/Rock Band timed exclusive). Even if they put more Japanese style games on the system it already has that image. It is like the Nintendo is kiddy image that Nintendo has had to struggle with. If Microsoft can shake the image of not having the style game desired and makes better hardware next time around they have just as good a chance as Sony as being #1 in Japan.

i guess i should have mentioned the fact that i'm not including the wii in this theory. i kind of assumed that everyone would know that but i was wrong. i know the wii has sold much more than either of them, but i meant strictly between the 360 and the ps3. the wii has a much larger overall appeal to the average person despite what some gamers may think. it doesn't make it the best and it doesn't make it the worst, it's just different and that in turn has lead to great sales especially when compared to nintendo's last couple consoles. but i'll agree w? you for now nordlead, i guess image has a lot to do with it.