So it was a hard knock life for Microsoft in 2007, but these continued profits--surely a strange, but welcome, feeling for Xbox execs--should translate into new games, technologies and R&D for the platform (as they have for Nintendo). In many respects, it has already stared--see also: .

Sony, on the other hand, would probably like to forget this week ever happened.

After modest gains throughout the year, the PS3 now ; a country seen by many observers as a leading indicator for the industry's direction in the rest of the world.

Even key exclusives, once a staple of the PlayStation brand's power over the industry, have slipped from Sony's grasp this year in one way or another. On the one hand, Metal Gear Solid 4 launched with solid sales numbers and a New York City party that rivaled some Hollywood films, but quickly .

On the other hand, Final Fantasy XIII, previously an unquestioned lock as a PS3 uber-exclusive, has drifted over to the Xbox 360 camp for a North America and European launch sometime in the ambiguous future.