Well, To be fair, European's are pretty big losers themselves, so it all evens out.

P.S. THat 360 is pimp.

A big chunk of the PS2 install base...it still blows my mind that the PS2 is competing with all the next-gen consoles and even outstripping them in many places.

And yeah, there's something about the 360 being more popular in the US than anywhere else, isn't there? I wonder why that is.

Ahh analysts the only job in the world where you can be wrong more that 50% of the time and still keep your job.

Are these the same analyst that predicted the Wii would be in third place this gen?

Analysts and Meteorologists... (:| )

The Old Worlders love a bit of Sony, don't they!

@man_in_gauze: Microsoft has made some "enemies" worldwide with some clumsy strategies that have burned their customers. Of course, you could say that about all three companies, but Microsoft is bigger and has fingers in a lot of pies simultaneously, so they have the most face to lose.

I just got GTA IV today. My 360 just RROD today just when I put the game in the system. Good work Microsoft. Maybe a more reliable product would lead to better sales. I know, it's crazy talk.

@Redface, The Dark Messiah of Justice: I find it comical, someone named "Redface, The Dark Messiah of Justice" calling anyone a loser.

This coming from the part of the world that bought you the tabloid and paparazzi. Yeah... I believe you! O_O

I've been wary of getting a 360 because of the rampant RROD problem hoping that MS would fix it but it seems that won't happen anytime soon. True, the 360 has a wider selection of games but I've finally decided to get a 40GB PS3 that has a 3% chance of crapping out on me rather than a 360 with a 35% chance.

I think it has to do with the hardware problem. While American consumers don't mind the problems the 360 has been given, European are leaning towards Japan where they don't want to shed out X amount of money for a system that works half the time. Another way to put this is 'some' consumers wouldn't want to spend $1000 for a cheap [but high quality] 52" Plasma screen because he/she heard there are problems with them.

@Redface, The Dark Messiah of Justice:

Oh the irony Mr "Dark Messiah of Justice"

@Redface, The Dark Messiah of Justice:

Yes a 360 with a Euro dollar sign sure is "pimp"

*rollseyes*

@Redface, The Dark Messiah of Justice: In all fairness, they may be Europeans but at least they're not French O_o

I keed, I keed... I love my French overlords (Love you Thales <3).

I'm not sure if you want to trust analysts so openly. Combine this with European sensibilities and their amazing talent for hyperbole and you have a case where MS ending the European console wars trailing Sony by 2% being declared a utter thrashing. Knickers!!!

@otarumx: The newer systems don't have nearly as high of a fail rate. I have two 360s, one from 6 months after launch, and another from 6 months ago. The older one used to freeze up on me once in a while, so I gave Microsoft hell and got them to work on it, and it runs like a dream now - quiet and cool. And let me tell you, I play the shit out of the older one. Haven't had any issues with the newer one. It's pretty much my wife's, since we can't seem to share. ;) She has Rock Band parties all the time and it gets pretty heavy use, too.

With the 3 year warranty as well, you don't really have anything to worry about anymore. I understand your skepticism 'cause it sucks to invest $350 or whatever and have it bite you in the ass, but you're pretty safe these days.

@okenny :): Hey, let's not be rude to the French. Sarkozy rules.

@Captain Impulse:

"With the 3 year warranty as well, you don't really have anything to worry about anymore."

Are disc read errors covered in the 3 year warranty? I heard they were not and that still seems to be a prob, albeit a smaller one now

@pylon_trooper: The Old Worlders love a bit of Sony, don't they!

I suspect it's more a case of "hating a lot of Microsoft". It's certainly the #1 reason why I'll never walk into a game shop and buy a 360. RROD is #2.

@LittleBigPlaneteer: OH YOY'RE SO FULL OF SHIT ;) You know you wanna see that shit on the triple! You know it's tight!!

*nudge, nudge*... right?? *nudge, nudge*... RIGHT?

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I've got noth'in :(

@Captain Impulse: The French pay my rent and bought me GTA4... I have nothing but love for them :D and I have Canadian versions of them in my family tree :) They are good people... generally :\

Another note, it could also be the game selection. Don't get me wrong. The 360 has some of the great games, but these games tend to be driven for the hardcore audience [excluding Viva Pinata. Guitar Hero & Rock band doesn't count since they are multi platform] PS3 tends to go out and create some different that no one has seen like Eye of Judgement or Echochrome. The Wii pretty much sales everything thanks to it's controller. Yes Too Human will sale, but which one will sale more? Too Human or SingStar?

@okenny :): Just before I get flamed for my sepllign... I mhent to rtpe *U'ARE

im not european, but to me the only reason why i dont have a 360 is because of the RROD, almost all of the people i know that own one got RROD'd in less than 6 months after the purchase :/

if MS is kind enough (ha!) to fix that i will get one right away

@Pretty Much Everyone:

I can't believe you don't think "Dark Messiah of Justice" is an awesome name. Because it totally is.

I'm right, you're wrong, Europe sucks, kick rocks.

That imagine is fucking awesome.

I know part of my decision to get a PS3 over a 360 was build quality, and that was before RROD became a buzzword. I rented a console the first week it was available and wasn't impressed with the hardware at all. It's loud and feels/looks cheap. And with no killer games available I could patiently wait and see how the system would shape. A couple years later that assessment would prove true. Not to mention their DRM and save game data methods are terrible.

I don't write this to rag on the console, for if my concerns were adequately dealt with I'd be an owner. And I hear and read similar things far too often. For a company (Microsoft) who really wants to push units I'm surprised they haven't acted in a more desperate manner.

@Doshu: Well, I'm a colonial offshoot of ol' Britannia, so maybe that's why my convict Australian blood makes me warm to Sony.

And yeah, the RROD issue is a big factor.

@Redface, The Dark Messiah of Justice: You sir are a complete asshole. With your name, I wouldn't be insulting anyone. Europe actually has their act together unlike we do in the US.

Besides for the fact that they spell "color" like "colour", i have no problem with the europeans, and neither should you, since you are probably european as well, if you aren't native american. Or asian. or russian. or middle eastern. or african.

@Grey Gecko: I have mine sitting on a 40 LBS magnet but it just won't die... it's a launch too. It must be all those babies I hate... that karma, I tell you... it'sa spicy meata-boll!

I know it's going to die a day after the warranty ends so I've been saving an irony fund to put towards my Bluray equipped 360 with a 200GB HD come this fall ;)

I tend to agree with the analysis, the xbox 360, while still being a very good machine, definately is the weakest, if compared with the PS3. Actually the weakest of the trio is the wii, but it appeals to a completely different audience, that tends to have lots more number than the core gamers.

This should not be news to anyone. I don't think that even Microsoft thought they would outright "win" this generation. The realistic goal was to gain ground on Sony's 80% marketshare they had last gen. I'm fairly certain they will do that.

I wouldn't doubt it. Europe loves them some Playstation, and with the Wii destroying everyone in sight, it only makes sense that the 360 would be last in line.

meh.. these guys end up being wrong 95% of the time!

@LittleBigPlaneteer: EVERYTHING's in the warranty if you give them enough shit about it. I've never experienced a disk-read error so I can't comment whether or not they'll give you grief for it. I've heard some people having difficulties getting non-RROD issues fixed promptly, though. However, the issue I had with my box freezing wasn't a RROD and I had a pre-paid shipping box on my doorstep within 24 hours of my call.

I think the disc-read error is also related to older systems, but I can't confirm that.

@robinandtami: Yes they will. But the problem is next generation. Microsoft moves to gain an early start and a temporary edge against Sony made them loose the trust of their early adopters. I'm not sure if, seeing how Microsoft treated their early generation consoles, how many will actually trust Microsoft enough to be early adopters in then next. Next microsoft console will most probably have a very rough start.

@Redface, The Dark Messiah of Justice: You need to get Hammered. quit insulting people.

@Abriael: Probably, but I bet their QC department is going to be under intense scrutiny next time around. I don't think Microsoft wants another unforeseen $1 billion(?) extended warranty scenario. They should have got it right the first time, but a costly mistake is often the best motivator.

@okenny :): I see that uber-machine you described being unlikely, regardless of how sweet it would be (yeah, I know you're probably joking anyway). I get the feeling we'll start hearing about Microsoft's next console pretty soon anyway, which will probably put those specs you mentioned to shame. Pray for backwards compatibility. :)

People are buying into a farce of a silver lining when they keep talking about how the Xbox 360 is only looking into biting a part of the Sony marketshare.

That, or they are meteorologists. :D

@Redface, The Dark Messiah of Justice: Well, I thought it was funny. >_>

Okay, WTF is with Kotaku's instability today? Every time I refresh the page, it's like I've gone back in time 30 minutes or more. Articles and posts disappearing and then reappearing. Anyone else experiencing this?

At least MS stands a chance there. They should really just pull all resources out of Japan and focus on staying alive in Europe.

@Captain Impulse:
Thing is, you shouldn't have to give them shit about it. I really do hate the 360's hardware, and I am scared of mine breaking, but yeah, I don't doubt that I could get a new one for free. I do think the threat of RRoD, which isn't insanely high with newer models, is a dumb reason to pick a PS3 over a 360. There a lot of good reasons to do so, but people seem to be doing it for this stupid reason in particular.

It doesn't matter to me as long as good games still get created for both systems. Really what does it matter which system sold more units? If you made your choice based on a consoles popularity then you are a tool. Right now I have a wii60 and will be purchasing a PS3 once DS3 is incorporated in the buldle plus mabey a price drop.

@Abriael: Really?, when was it decided that the PS3 was "Definitely" more powerful than the 360. So far as I can tell they are on an equal footing. One has a stronger processor ant the other a better graphics chip, so they balance out. Fanboy Much?

I can never listen to this "Experts anymore"

@Captain Impulse:
For the last couple months? Yeah.

@Captain Impulse:

Yeah, things have been disappearing on me too.

@Captain Impulse: I had disk read errors myself. When I called microsoft and told them of my issues they responded that my warranty had expired. Problem was, it had not. I had all the proper sheets of paper they send you when you get a warranty. So I had to spend around 5 hours on the phone just to get them to allow me to fax my info to them. And, finally when I did send it, they said they didn't get it. Fortuanatly for me some customer support lady was nice enough to just trust me when I said I had the warrenty. This was also my second console and was only a year old so the disc read error still affects newer consoles.

The analysts are wrong, the Xbox 360 will be the Biggest Winner in Europe!

(Note: I live in denial)