It seems that for now the Nintendo Wii is running ahead in the console wars. The Wii was the second top selling Next-Generation console over Christmas and has improved its sales in January. Analysts are even predicting that 30% of American homes will have a Wii by 2010.

Console -- Dec. Sales -- Jan. Sales -- Total Sales

Xbox 360 -- 1.1 million -- 294,000 -- 4.8 million

Wii -- 604,200 -- 436,000 -- 1.5 million

PS-3 -- 490,700 -- 244,000 -- 931,300

Figures, DailyTech, and Gamasutra

Whilst it is undeniable that the Xbox 360 has a considerable lead, the Wii is the only console making any ground on the Xbox's lead. The Playstation 3 has sat at the bottom of the sales charts for 2 months running, and Sony will need to do something to stop the rot.

It looks like price is going to decide this war. With the Wii priced at $250, it undercuts the cheapest Xbox 360 by $50 and PlayStation 3 by $250. The premium versions of both consoles cost considerably more. That coupled with the innovative gameplay makes for an immensely popular gaming system.

I am not sure that the Wii will continue this run. It needs one or two 'must have' games to keep selling. The innovative gameplay will get stale without good games selling it, at the moment the Wii is pretty much selling itself with Wii Sports.

I believe that unless the Playstation 3 is subject to a price cut, it will sit in third place this time round. A grand failure considering the power of the Playstation brand. The gap between the Playstation 3 and the Wii is only half a million units and a price drop combined with good releases will close that in no time.