What is this illusion that xbox was a solid #2 behind the ps2? First, even on the xbox' strongest territory, North America, xbox was a distant second to the ps2. Second, North America was the only territory where microsoft was ahead of nintendo. In Europe xbox was more or less tied with the gamecube, and in japan we all know the xbox story.

This really speaks highly of microsoft's marketing, since a lot of people in North America (including designers it would seem) seem to be under the impression that in terms of install base, microsoft wasn't that far behind from sony.