It's The Software, Stupid
Sony worked for a long time on the Playstation 3 with the idea that machine itself would be so powerful that it would carry the market. Microsoft got the X-box 360 to market as fast as it could, and relied on the software -the games- to bring you into their customer base. If you managed to beg, borrow, or maybe steal a Playstation 3 this Christmas, what could you play on it? Gears of War for X-Box 360 sold two million copies in just six weeks, because the early hardware rollout gave game developers the leg up they needed to use every bit of power the platform offered.
The story isn't just in the sales numbers of the software itself though; Gears of War has been dominating Xbox Live since its release. Sandvine Incorporated has reported an 80 percent jump in hosts using Xbox Live, a significant spike in usage. There has also been a 30 percent jump in traffic increase in the service since November 7. While some of these numbers are due to the free 48-hour Xbox Live Gold trial included in the game, a good number of those users appear to have retained the service. While some of the bandwidth consumption is also due to the video download service launching, it's clear that Gears of War is doing a good job of bringing customers online.
