I have to vote 3rd, for 2 reasons.

1. The PS3 Slim momentum had already waned. The last month has been the holiday season causing all systems to increase in sales. Sales will slowly drop over the next few months, spike when FF13 is released outside Japan, and start dropping again. Sony has very little left to spark momentum. They're still losing money on the Slim, so another big price drop is unrealistic in the next 8-10 months. Price drops are a short term solution, Sony needs software to help push momentum. Look at Nintendo for proof that the lack of system sellers can cause even the Wii to lose steam.
2. They are still well behind the 360. 2010 holds a lot of surprises, namely Microsoft's and Sony's motion devices. The launches of these devices will have the potential to make or break the fight for second place. Both have done a very poor job at assuring us that these devices will have the proper support behind them. The Wii remote wasn't the reason for the Wii's success, the software that utilized it were. Without the software, these devices will flop out of the gates, regardless if they are technologically superior.

I guess to surmise, I still see uncertanty in the system's future. Price drops have been proven ineffective long term, and outside Gran Turismo I don't see very much with any potential to be the system seller Sony needs. The PS3 has been nothing but one big money sink for the company, and there is no way this system will last 10 years like the PS1 and PS2 did. They can claim "10 year plan" all they want, the PS1 and PS2 lasted that long because they were successful systems that made them money, which is the exact opposite of the PS3.

it will be 1st Because the Wii will stop selling and Nintendo will Quit making Consoles just to make games on the godly PS4 , Microsoft will be so scared they will back out , GOSH isn't it obvious !

It won't be first, that's for sure. Even with the PS3 price cut the Wii is still outselling it almost 2:1. It'll never catch the Wii. It might catch the XBox 360, but it'll depend on how well people accepts the Natal and whatever new exclusives Microsoft releases. Halo: Reach is going to be huge. Another price drop (250GB XBox360 Slims at $200?) could send gamers into a frenzy for the console. I still don't think the PS3 will catch the XBox 360 before the next generation starts, which will probably be in 2012. Expect hints about new Wii's and XBox 360 systems at this years E3. I wouldn't be surprised if the next XBox already has Natal built in, as well as Blu-Ray or a superior media format. Sony did a good job finally getting the price lower and releasing some awesome exclusive games. Their only downside was 1) the PS3 Slim is still losing money on every unit sold 2) The PSP Go is an utter failure. Sony sold a LOT of PS3, but unfortunately 2009 will show another $1 billion+ in loses. Good job Sony.

It explains why the PS3 is in last place. It will probably still be there when the next-gen starts. It did gain about 2.7 million on the XBox 360, but it had to relaunch it's system at a much lower price to do so. Sony's not going to drop the price again, but Microsoft definitely will and XBox 360 sales will increase. Unless Sony has something else up their sleeve besides FF XIII and GT5, I don't see them catching the XBox 360 within the next 2 years.

1st no it can 't Wii is the winner of the 7th gen no one can deny it
2nd yes the chances are a lot
3rd it is already
but as a whole PS3 has sold way more than consoles like Dreamcast,Gamecube,Xbox,Nintendo 64 and many more systems it has an established fanbase and it is being supported pretty well so it won 't be like old 3rd place consoles(if it won 't come 2nd) it will end up as the best-selling 3rd place home console of all time

I think this will be a very good thread to resurect in 12 months time.

I selected 3rd simply based off the fact even with the price cut the PS3 is still selling 3rd in the two biggest markets (US and UK). Add to that in Japan it only sold as much as it did because of Final Fantasy. At some point this year things will level out where Japan numbers fall to normal. At that point the additional numbers from US and UK will make up for the rest of europes numbers meaning 360 will re-take 2nd place. Then in 7 months Microsoft will release Natal with a most likely price cut meaning a £99 360. Which means if in US and UK the 360 is already outselling the PS3 then how will it do with a price cut on top of that?

So i think you would have to be slightly deluded if you think Japanese numbers will continue to prop up PS3 sales worldwide. A good indication of how things are is the sales of Final Fantasy 13. At the 2 week point it is the lowest selling FF game (not including online) in Japan.

I think if you put this poll on gaf you would see a totally different set of numbers. That is not me saying this website is Sony biased but think it is obvious a lot of people voted for the console they prefer rather then the one they think will finish 1st,2nd,3rd.

which system sold so much at launch price 600$ and 650 euros

I'm pretty sure it will eventually pull off second, the momentum is clearly with it... but you never know for sure. Xbox 360 seems to have already exhausted all of its options...

x360 only has a very small amount of price reduction moves it can make, really PS3 has the high ground on this one, and Natal is going to flop imo, because it will only cater to casuals, there are hardly any casuals on the XBOX 360 and Halo only appeals to hardcore users, so yes Natal will flop, whereas PS3 has already a mixture of casuals and hardcore, and the hardware will have the ability to cater to both users, so I believe the PS Wands should have a better success rate.

It depends on what you define as "End of the Gen."

If that is "As soon as one new console is released."

I'd say 3rd.

Then again, this generation may have some legs to it.  With Sony and Nintendo not wanting to end it anytime soon... both for similar reasons of profitability but with way different justifications for said reasons.

Also, microsoft may or may not release a new system anytime soon, what with waiting for Natal.  So either 2nd or 3rd is possible.