The PS3 installed based is larger than the XBox 360 installed base: http://www.vgchartz.com/

And the PS3 was released a year later than the XBox 360.

According to the chart, we're talking 77.6M vs. 77.5M. That's really splitting hairs about who is 'first.'

The part that's missing here is that those stats are after ~8 years of normalization. Many people that only bought a single console at first may now have two or three from that generation (i.e. could only afford one console, but over the course of close to a decade could save up and buy one or two more, especially after price drops).

The PS3 was also one of the first BluRay players, and IIRC in Japan Sony is a more trusted brand than Microsoft (or at least was). These are all factors at play here.

With Xbox Live Gold, Microsoft probably made more money, I'd say.

You must be an American with such sheltered views - with the exception of the UK, Playstation 3 is dominant in Europe and Asia.

You're right, I am an American, and my perception has been skewed by that.

Microsoft's dumb. Google, Apple, and very likely Amazon (I think amazon could dominate) are all going to compete in the home entertainment space. Meanwhile, Sony and (potentially) Valve will be stiff competition in gaming.

This is why Microsoft needs to split up. They think that their ecosystem itself delivers more value than what it's actually worth. There's simply no focus on what their customers actually want.

There's very little loyalty in the console business. Nintendo's the only exception, largely because their target audience is different, and even that brand is starting to suffer.

You're only as good as your current console.

Well it's a tie technically. But you're right in the USA. Lifetime sales for PS3 are 70-77 million, Xbox 360 sales are 77 million. Consider that 1 in 3 people I know with a 360 got the red ring of death and bought another one I'd say a PS3 and 360 are more than tied.