The PS3 actually isn't that expensive...

[Paco]

Sony well might not reach that level, and the price definitely might be a part of it, but MS isn't necessarially going to capitalize on it. Here's the thing -- while the X360 is selling great in the US, and as we all know has bombed in Japan, it isn't selling as well as expected in Europe either. And I'm not betting on the Wii winning the European market; Nintendo has never been successful at all there, and I don't think that will change now... they are trying to change some of their worse policies, but there's only so much they can do to change long-held knowledge of how many problems Nintendo's European departments have had. Yes, the PS3's price in Europe is insane, and maybe that will limit things, but console prices there are always higher...

Japan, though? Wii should do fantastically, driven by Nintendo fans and nongamers/casual gamers drawn in by what will surely be its DS-like game selection and marketing campaign in Japan... PS3 will do well too though. Could be a split? I don't know, there has always been one clear dominating platform in Japan each console generation, will that change this time?

America... I don't know. It's just too early to tell.

All I can say is we'll see.

That's a very imporant distinction though, since everybody with a 360 has Silver, or could, while Gold is the one that really matters...

Gold isn't the only one that matters. With Silver you can download patches, demoes, trailers, and other content...some of it for a fee where MS reaps the benefits off of every transaction. That and there's already been talk about ads in games over Live. MS will make money from that ad space.