But it's far too early to pick the ultimate winner. Gaming industry press and analysts still feel the PS3 has the chops to dominate in the end. Reviews at videogame site GameSpot say that "the PS3 has all the processor, graphics and communications power necessary to win this generation," while Electronic Arts departing CEO Larry Probst told a Web conference audience that he believed the PS3 will prove the ultimate winner.
Meanwhile, the Xbox 360 is taking strong lead in the number of games sold. The Xbox 360 has six titles in the top 10 for February -- including the No. 1 title -- while Wii has three and PS3 none (PS2 title "Guitar Hero" took the final spot). Additionally, Xbox 360 owners buy far more games than the owners of other consoles at a rate of 5.4 games per 360 owner. That rate falls to 2.3 for the PS3 and 2.8 for the Wii.
That leaves the Wii, for now, with everything to lose.
"Their challenge going forward is to make sure this is not a passing fad by getting a stream of content into the market," Gartenberg says. "The game console purchase driver is still going to be first and foremost games. The secondary stuff is the icing on the cake."