ahh the old PS2 (anti) sales argument. :smile:
not sure that argument gets close to affecting the type of sales numbers you are seeing form this system in NA
My opinion is that (at least in NA- US) the reason for this continued growth of 360 is that it is well on its way to replacing the PS systems as the defacto gaming console (in NA). The proof is in the kids/teens. they set the tone for what is "cool" and what sells (what their parents buy or let them buy).
Believe me, with teenage kids, I see it. Where as 10 years ago it was all PS, the majority has shifted to Xbox (and frankly LIVE and how cool it is to use and socialize on). Live subscription is only the cost of one game per year which is nothing for most kids/teens to get for birthday gift etc.
Well, that can be perfectly true (I don´t live in the States, so I don´t know the feel of the youth directly), and in that case, the sales of Kinect (kinectimals, dance central, etc) should be extremely huge. Beyond Wii 09 levels...
When something really hit the point and has a good environment for the growth, with fame well stablished and a generalised good shape in consumers´ minds, the succes is almost a logical conclusion.
The point is that XBOX software sales are not as impressive than HW. A good starting point for a young boy that go for a console can be Madden, and the similarity of the numbers in both platforms has make me fool, considering the (big) hardware gap.
But what you say is, from my point of view, really important, because Kinect is addressed to Wii consumers (at least, it´s what I perceive), and those are in a good amount kids and really mature people (and girls). I´ve always think of XBOX in US as having their public in between, that is, young boys, teenagers and boys with ages between 12-25. And Madden (I believe) is just the right product for that sector of the society.
Obviously, in Christmas, with Kinect and relative flat sales for Wii, XBOX could destroy their previous marks, if the assumption of being a new "de facto" general purpose console is true.
We´ll see. I really don´t have a solid answer for this, but my assumption of a percentage of replacements taking part of the sales for XBOX this month is based in the bad perception that (here in Spain) have the old refurbished console models, even with warranty, because of their relative short life span.
I´m sure that december will clarify those questions.
Cheers.