The Seattle Post Intelligencer wonders if Halo 3 can 'turn things around' for Microsoft's Xbox 360.

While I know from personal experience that copyeditors are sometimes pressed for time, I'm still at a loss to understand that headline.

The original Xbox finished 2nd in a field of three by the slimmest possible margin. The PlayStation 2 ran away with the ball that season. The Xbox eked out a mostly moral victory over the underpowered and unsung Nintendo GameCube.

The first of the next-generation consoles to launch, the Xbox 360 was nearing the 10 million mark before a single other console was sold. It's now well into the portion of its lifetime where it can actually start making profit, through software sales and manufacturing cost reductions. Sure, Microsoft's design problems have been bad news for console owners and the company alike. The bottom line, though, is that instead of being a distant second fighting tooth and nail to not fall to third, Microsoft is now a strong second in the market (if you believe that the Wii has now sold more consoles) with Sony a distant third and falling further behind all the time.

I've seen some of the reports that the Wii's admittedly phenomenal sales have propelled it, worldwide, to the #1 spot by about 100,000 units. That's a pretty slim margin, especially considering the huge advantage that Nintendo has over both its rivals in its home market.

In short, Nintendo needs that huge home market advantage to overcome the advantage Microsoft has in Europe and North America. There's also every indication that Halo 3 will sell 5 million copies or more before the year is out, and if only 1% of those Halo fans were waiting until now to upgrade to a 360, then there's 100,000 extra consoles right there. It's entirely possible that Halo 3 will swing the 360 back into first place, and that the Wii and the 360 will be vying for that number one spot for months if not years.

Even if Sony is able to climb up from the abyss to compete respectably, and the Wii establishes an unassailable lead, it's arguable that finishing a close second with a sizeable lead over third place is better than finishing a distant second with a marginal gap over third place.

In other words, to date, the 360 is a more successful console than the original Xbox.

What, exactly, is there for Halo 3 to "turn around"?