: On paper, the PS3 wiped the FLOOR with the Xbox.

More to the point, the original Xbox stats also wiped the floor with the PS2 (with the Gamecube sitting in the middle).

The thing is though, the PS2 had a big head-start on the Xbox, just as the Xbox 360 had a big head-start on the PS3.
The console that 'won' both of those wars was the one that was cheapest, had built up an install base unopposed and had time to release some significant key games.

It'll be interesting to see how this develops with both consoles set to come out at about the same time.
That isn't something that happens very often.

Fundamentally, price may be the deciding factor in who wins the first round.