"In a direct response to Microsoft's recent tough talk regarding its intention to sell 10 million Xbox 360s in one year, Sony has declared that it's prepared to deal with the competition.

'We're ready,' Sony Computer Entertainment's European president David Reeves defiantly claimed while addressing a crowd at the International Games Summit in London. 'First mover advantage is there if you have momentum, but not really if you're standing still.'

Reeves' bullish comments suggest that the current Xbox's popularity is nowhere near the level it needs to be for Microsoft to have any real advantage.

One person who would probably disagree with this claim is Microsoft's Shane Kim, who in recent months hasn't been shy in pointing out that last Christmas Xbox actually outsold PS2 in the US - a fact that would suggest Microsoft actually does have the momentum required to really damage Sony's market dominance next generation.

So, is Sony really ready for the Xbox 360? Or is the company simply taking the oncoming Microsoft threat too lightly?"