...Because Americans are smart and prefer the superior console which is the 360.

I'd be more likely to believe Americans are gullible and will buy anything that is well advertised, no matter how much of a piece of crap it is.

I'm a former PS2 gamer and American and I wouldn't even think about getting a 360.  I stayed with the PS3 because the PS2 was so great, and I've been rewarded with a great console and great games.  Why would I go to anything else?

I've experienced it with many many friends of mine. People tend to think that USA = World and since you see NPD numbers come in having the PS3 lose to the 360...well "PS3 sucks", with lack of better terms.

Example: Recently back at school, I heard a friend say "Man, PS3 is in trouble. It's got no chance against the 360, what with Bioshock 2 Mass Effect 2, and Halo Reach coming out". I immediately thought to myself "Why would a multiplatform game, a game that releases day and date with the PC, and Halo cause the PS3 to be in trouble? Halo is the biggest gun there, and Halo 3 and ODST didn't 'kill' the PS3. Why will reach be any different?" However, they know that the 360 has the advantage here and take that to mean everything. If they saw things from a worldwide perspective, their views would change, but they aren't people like us, who constantly research game news and keep up with sales. Then it just becomes a domino effect afterwards.

I mean, another friend of mine (immediately preceeding the statement about ME2, B2, and Halo) said "I've been hearing about this game called MAG for the PS3 that's supposed to 'save' it because it has 256 player multiplayer"

#1 The PS3 doesn't need saving and #2 if it did....who in their right mind believes that MAG would be the game to do it? Who? UNINFORMED PEOPLE! Now, that's not to say that some people don't do their research to some degree, and then buy appropriately. It's just that a lot of people don't know about the industry and make their choices based on word of mouth from other people who haven't done their research.

Another example: I was talking to another friend of mine after MW2 launched. I told him about the record it set by having 2M people on XBL at one time. His response? "That's because XBL is great and Playstation Online (yes, he said Playstation Online, not PSN) sucks". Why does PSN, or PSO in his case, suck because there were 2M on XBL at one time? Maybe the fact that there are more 360s in consumer households has something to do with it? But the fact that there were that many people online at once has NOTHING to do with the quality of each respective service. That's like saying Checkers must suck because more people are playing Chess right now.

I guess this mainly applies to America, because most of the people I interact with have 360s and wouldn't buy a PS3...ever. But I stand by my statement that many times, people buy based on word of mouth from the uninformed. And maybe over in Europe, it's the same way, just in favor of the PS3.

I can't explain for the UK, Australia, or Canada, but the reason the Xbox got the lead over PS3 in the US is pricing. In the US pricing is very important and sometimes we may even pick cheaper less well made products over higher-priced quality products. That is why sometimes companies drop their prices on their products in the US while raising it in other regions to compensate.

I'll forgive your generalizing of this only because Ippo is awesome... It's really to tricky to put your finger on it... the Xbox brand is also doing better in the UK ... why?  Maybe because Microsoft has two UKs biggest developers?  I have no idea how they are doing so well... and it's all over the place in the rest of Europe.  There has to be some brand loyalty... but the US is probably the biggest shock... it was only slightly leaning toward the 360, but now it's just a blood bath... I think that more brand damage may have occured in the US and the UK than elsewhere.  But then people talk about home turf advantage... Microsoft isn't nessarily looked on in a favorable light though it has improved with the rest of the company falling in line with how the Xbox team dealt with the public... what suprises me is how much Sony has sold dispite it's complete failure of a launch... they fucked up everything and some how people forgive them after just a couple of great games.... it's rather suprising to me

More friends having 360s in the US = more 360 sales
More friends having PS3's in EU = more EU sales

Though this is circular logic, the current state is leading to these outcomes.

The GT argument does not hold so much IMO as we have not yet had a full-game release this gen. I think 360 is better marketed in the US, I mean we hardly get to see any console or game adverts in Malta or Italy.

Because Americans really like Halo and Europeans really like Gran Turismo.

Yes but with that reasoning PS3 sales should be at 0 given that there hasn't been a full-release of GT. Demos don't count :)

Different strokes for different folks?