I would say it is to some degree.

Especially LIVE. At the start of this gen Sony launched a very incomplete and sub-standard online system. Over time things have vastly improved, up to the point now that we have threads arguing over which system is the superior. LIVE stands as one, if not the key selling point for MS's system, they've said so all along. If gamers are now questioning the value of their key selling point, with the competitor offering a similiar service free of charge, consumers desire and appeal for the system will lessen.

I'm not sure about MS expecting the 360 not to make it this far. Their gameplan with the original Xbox was to quash Sony, and although they failed in that regard, they entered this gen at full sprint, their second chance, launching early and organising plenty of exclusives. I believe it's MS's vision statement to reach the top of this industry.

I don't think it's losing appeal so much as completing it's natural sales curve. I think, perhaps particularly in the US where 360 has done so well, it's tempting to apply unrealistic expectations on the 360.

MS started this generation in a fairly weak position. They had a core built around Halo and online gameplay, particularly in US, but it was small compared to the install base of PS2 and even the Gamecube.

Outside US Xbox had weak pickup with the exception of UK and MS were absolutely nowhere in Japan.

The 360 has performed better than I would have expected - perhaps even better than MS expected.

Yes, it cost them a huge amount of money, and yes, this gen 360 is still going to finish a fair way behind the upper limit possible for consoles, as defined by PS1/PS2 and so far this gen the Wii. But if you look at the growth it is solid and particularly in US the brand seems pretty secure. In Others its in a not bad place, and even in Japan a small victory of sorts (over 1M) has been gained.

I think the issue is that, unless Natal really does deliver something truly huge in growth (and not wanting to be negative but I don't think it will), the 360 is going to start winding down now, no matter what games launch on it, and by comparison the PS3 is still going to grow (because with a lifecycle curve starting early also means you start to wind down earlier too) and the Wii is of course way past what the 360 has any reasonable chance of achieving.

Anyone being unrealistic and expecting 360 to keep growing YOY is being unrealistic. It has to peak, unless MS pull of a miracle with Natal, and it has to have a decline. It launched ahead of the PS3 and the Wii, so it will start to decline earlier. The Wii has always outperformed it and the PS3 has always tracked it time adjusted and has a better global brand, so the results have to be seen in that light.

So 360 owners should be happy. The console was a success in terms of where it started, Live remains a very good service (albeit one with a narrower gap over PSN than previously) and the console has seen and will continue to see good games.

I think it's a problem. It's a problem of value in the eyes of the consumer. It might also be an issue with people not having access to credit cards etc. Actual stats for this we'll never know.

What does Gears have to do with anything? Sony recently released some compelling software on it's system, which moved units. That's a problem. The impact might not be huge, but we've only seen a few weeks of U2 sales. It's market impact will lie well beyond that measure.

I thought we were talking WW here.  It's also an issue of value. Even if the consumer doesn't really need it, if it's thrown in for (seemingly) free, it can make the product more desirable.

Your point seems to be concerned with consumers only interested in BR. I have no idea the size of the market segment interested in both a gaming machine and a BR player, but it exists.

wow, how much do you hate the ps3 today ? a lot! But tell me while were at it , How Much faster is 360's web Browser ? How much "Quieter" Is 360s Blu ray player ? Does it use less power and come with a remote too? how many other Game Consoles do you know that also include All of that and then some ? im not trolling , and i love the 360 , im just interested in why you are trolling the ps3 so much today ? i havent Seen this many Anti PS3 Comments Since ...August!

I don't bother with the PS3s web browser as I have a laptop. Most of the world is heading that way anyway.

Actually my 360 came with a remote... as for Blu Ray well I guess 1080P on demand sounds close enough and it does use less power as my PS3 is a launch model.

I don't really think im trolling the PS3, my points are fairly fair and true.

Definitely price.

People can nit pick every little thing about it. But if they drop the price sales will go up.

1. WoW is a paid service with a lot of essentially similar free services out there and it survives and thrives. Its a network effect as both Live and PSN cannot talk to each other people have to choose what their friends have, not which is cheapest or offers the best price/value.

2. Its compelling for PS3, but until it gets some big sales numbers it doesn't really imply or explain anything. Its big but its not as big as something like Gears of War which defined a whole holiday season somewhat by itself. Its not enough really to bother to list as a reason why the XB isn't doing as well relative to the PS3 at present.

3. Well X % will never go online (1/3rd to 1/2) so theres that. Of the people whom do go online its only a problem for those cross shopping the PS3 and Xbox 360. These are people who haven't been pulled in a particular direction anyway. Most of the people whom a PS3 and Xbox 360 is an equal choice will pick the PS3 because Playstation is the brand they know. In this case whether wireless is there or not is irrelevant.

4. I don't doubt that it exists but you have to consider that X % already have a BR player, X % of people want a seperate one, X % don't want one at all. Its an added feature 'free' so its utility varies. I changed the colour setting on my Bravia, that makes me like one of 5% of people to touch that setting. Its hard to say what impact the feature has for the console, but since it only relates to one specific segment it doesn't speak of the overall dynamic and should probably be ignored as theres too much uncertainty and that metric is changing all the time.

Oh , comparing PS3 To every device out there that can do One Thing Better then it Isnt Trolling ? HA ! Anyone could easily Do the Same for the 360 or anything else At that . Leave the Fanboy at home .

M$ isn't competing anymore because they will launch Xbox 720 next year. All of the suckers who are expecting Natal on 360 would be fucking disappointed when they hear about it on E3. hahehahohaheeha