Well it sure looks like Sony knew what they were doing when they picked a region to delay the launch.
Although I find it amazing that so many would have waited 16 mos from the release of Next Gen. Personally I would have grabbed a Next Gen system long ago and just used it until PS3 came out and then sold the 1st system for whatever.
I guess only certain games on each system are the most important factor for some?
That, or the lack of an HDtv at the time, or the fact that many important games were actually better on PS2 than on the 360, or that the 360 launch hardware wasn't really great (loud, among others), or that peripherals for the 360 were expensive, or quite simply because the PS2 is still getting tonnes of good games in Europe (we just got Okami, we are getting Final Fantasy XII only next week, God of War 2 is due in April), or because you just bought a DS or a PSP.
Then again, still a fair number of 360s were sold in the E.U. (mostly I presume to some of those early HDtv adopters). It's about in line with how popular the Xbox was in the U.S. and Europe respectively at the end of its lifecycle.
For me personally, the PSP being rather excellent (for my intents and purposes), the lack of an HDtv, the lack of 'must-have' games on the 360 (yes, I know what titles are out there), the loudness of the thing (I thought the original PS2 was already close to unacceptable - it still bothers me daily when I turn it on for DVD playback), the lack of peripheral support (only recently got FF) and the expensiveness of peripherals (finally we get support for FF, but only if you buy the MStm wheel), the fact that I barely get round to playing all those excellent PS2 games, are all reasons that have held me back.
I only got a HDtv just over a month ago, and I actually hadn't planned on getting one already, but my girlfriend insisted on decorative reasons.
In the end, I lack faith in the platform delivering what I want from next-gen, and it hasn't brought enough games to the table that feel next-gen either. I'm hoping that the PS3 will do better, but it will at the least have all the added benefits of being compatible with the mountain of peripherals and PS2 games I already have, plus be a BluRay disc player and generally a good consumer of my new TV.
I am well aware that for other people, the 360 is delivering the next-gen goods, and that's great. But some of the games I played most on the PS2 were fighting games like Tekken, racing games like Gran Turismo, and DDR and SingStar games. Despite its limited line-up, in this area the PS3 is already delivering very early in its lifecycle with the GT:HD demo, Tekken DR downloadable, Virtua Fighter 5, and SingStar Online nearly finished and looking to be great fun with innovative use of online. Motorstorm also looks like a game I could dig - I love me some physics, as does F1 (but that could just as well be total crap - you never know with these games). And I'm still hopeful that the sixaxis motion sensing actually turns out to be great fun.
My financial situation is looking up, and if the 360 gets an exclusive that I dig, I'll probably get it. But right now, I'm still waiting for the next-gen gaming experience! I guess my tastes so far just aren't 'American' enough, but no matter how many games have been released already, they don't bring me what I like. As soon as a game comes out that touches me though, I'll probably still get one. I can understand perfectly how some 360 owners feel the same about the PS3 right now. Just my own position on this. And it can change in just one game release - I have no qualms on investing considerable money in a game if it is good and has sufficient depth (I still prefer Time Crisis Time Trials over the best of the next-gen shooters out there - here's hoping they figure something out for HDtvs - maybe using a system similar to the wii-mote's). But I'm holding my investment for lack of attractive opportunities.
Again, all respect for people who feel the same about the PS3.
