As far as I know, 5.5 million is more or less the gap that existed between the HD systems back in November 2006 (dunno if I´m wrong here)...then after the 360 surged in sales last year the gap kept going up till it was about 8 million...now it´s been going down and it´s currently at 6.3 million..how soon do you think the gap will be 5.5 million?...and after holidays are over and sales levels go back to normal, it´ll be quite interesting to see if the gap keeps decreasing (though at a lower pace) or if MS has something in store before Natal hits the market.

for sure, it will continue to decrease

but, it is very hard to estimate the impact of a price cut + natal (simultaneously ?)
I m sure, potentially, they could give back a lot of sales to MS
but I believe that a price cut alone will not be sufficient
and I also believe Natal potential is VERY big, but it is still "only" potential at the moment ....

so hard to say .... but a gap inferior to 5.5M is possible to me ...

I believe the gap will be below 5.4m(closest ever) after this December and continue to decrease at a good pace at least through February (probably much longer) .. I won't predict any further into the future than that.

Maximum gap was ~8.2m this August.

I think the gap will continue to decrease, 5.5 by end of year looks likely if Sony provides similar Thanksgiving bundles during X-mass week.

@Libelulle

I dont think a price cut and Natal together will work. Natal will include new hardware which will raise the cost of X-box. I dont see Natal impacting PS3 as much as it will impact Wii. Natal is meant for casuals and most causals are playing Wii and not PS3. Hardcore fans will still stick with the classic josystiq games.

Yes it will but i doubt natal will move consoles and if they do ANOTHER price cut there just fukin desperate...

Lets not Forget sony And Nintendo Wont just Lay down and get beat , they Will both do bundles , Release New Games , Price-cuts , and who else knows what.

If this recent ps3 sales keeps going or go higher then I have no doubt it will.

Is this Microsoft is going to be beating the PS3 again soon or something before next labor day? The gap should be 5.5 mil before the second week of january.

Microsoft will lag through next summer, then resurge in the fall off price cuts + Natal + AAA sequels (Halo, Fable, etc). Sony looks incredibly strong through the spring (slim's soaring + GT5), but a little questionable after and if they're going to shift to "profitability" soon I wouldn't expect another pricecut (more likely it'll get "value added" software bundles/HDD upgrades). Nintendo has a solid lineup for both the 1st and 2nd halves, but they're still lagging in multiplatform support. I think we'll see another Wii pricedrop next fall though, in addition to a Mario bundle.

6.5 million is more reasonable to me.