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CNET see 360 falling behind

PS3 and Wii to dominate

The ambiguity over who will win the current-generation hardware struggle has seen both Microsoft and Sony conceding that it may take more than a year or two to see which platform will dominate, if any one console can even achieve such a feat.

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CNET, in a new console report, suggest they have an idea how things are likely to play out. Microsoft shareholders may wish to look away now.

According to the new article, the PS3 and the Wii are likely to top 100 million unit sales by 2012, while the Xbox 360 will grow much more slowly, peaking at around 40 million in the same year.

"I think Microsoft has an image issue," says analyst Michael Pachter, quoted in the article. "They've branded themselves as the hard-core gaming rig, and I just don't think that the hard-core audience is that big. Thirty or forty million, but not 120 million. I think they're going to keep capturing the hard-core, but they're never going to appeal to family, and Sony's always going to appeal to family."