Responding to the 360's dominant position going into the key festive period, boss Bill Gates has responded in a down to earth manner, stating that people should judge the success of the console in 2007, when rival consoles the and the have spent some time on the market. He stated that 'real success' will be measured in a year's time.

"I wouldn't change positions with them in a million years. I mean, we know what it's like to be a year late. We feel great about the position that we're in," Gates enthused during an interview with News.com. However, he was also quick to note the power of the PlayStation brand, and seemed to echo the sentiment 'never write-off the PlayStation', stating "Sony can make 80,000 bricks, and people would buy them. So the real - you're going to see the impact of our innovation and all the momentum we have in 2007."

"This Christmas the story is: is going to sell super-well, and [Sony will] sell the rounding error amounts they can make," he concluded, sticking the knife into the pitiful first round shipment figures supporting the PS3's launch in North America and Japan.

By Luke Guttridge