On Tuesday we posted the official Best of E3 awards, but do they really make a difference? Do what the critics feel are the best of the best actually translate into higher sales? UBS analyst Ben Schachter seems to think so, compiling this handy chart to prove it.

"Do awards translate into higher sales? The answer is yes, but not always. Additionally certain categories have a higher correlation between awards and sales. Since these awards began in 1998, the Best Console title has sold an average of 2.42 million units life-time in the U.S., according to NPD", Schachter explained.

With Nintendo DS sales slowing in Japan, could Nintendo have a successor waiting in the wings? Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter think so, telling investors in a note that Nintendo "has a new handheld device ready for launch in [Japan] before the end of the calendar year", according to a report from Edge Online.

In fact, it's those cooling hardware sales on the DS that may force Nintendo to react, making an end-of-year announcement more likely, Pachter writes. The DS has been regularly outsold by the PSP for the past few months in Japan, with marquee software releases doing little to boost matching hardware sales.

Evidence suggests that the mid-level Xbox 360 might soon see a price drop to $US 299, and we've seen rumours suggesting that the imminent cut would make way for a new, 60GB Xbox 360.

With price cuts possibly on the horizon that could bring console prices closer to the Wii's territory, should Nintendo worry? "The Wii audience is not choosing between 360 and Wii", said Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter. "Either they will buy a Wii only, or they will buy both a Wii and either a 360 or PS3. So Microsoft is right to consider the PS3 as the competition and to ignore the Wii".

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter said that Nintendo's lead over its competitors in hardware sales is no cause for alarm for Sony and Microsoft, even though console sales in the recent month saw declines Xbox 360 and the Wii declining over the month prior. Even though console sales are still within expectations, the analyst said the Xbox 360 and PS3 will see at least a $AU 53.22 price reduction by the Holiday.

"I don't really think that Microsoft and Sony are doing badly - just doing badly in comparison to Nintendo", Pachter said. "It makes sense that PS3 and 360 are doing about the same... instead of saying 'what's wrong with Sony and Microsoft,' we should be looking at Nintendo and saying, 'how the hell do they keep doing this?'"

Microsoft has ranged from mum to cagey on the exact source of the hardware issue that has red ringed thousands upon thousands of Xbox 360s, with Robbie Bach chalking it up to a "a Microsoft design issue". While the President of the company's Entertainment & Devices Division would prefer to leave it at that, a report from the EETimes lays blame on the console's graphics chip, one made on the cheap.

Earlier this year, Hudson Square Research analyst Daniel Ernst issued estimates for Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto IV, pegging 2008 sales for the title at 13 million copies. Not a bad take. Analyst analysers populating the post's comments called that figure into question, with insight ranging from "Durrrr" and "dude is captain obvious" to "unbelievable" and "unrealistic".

The Wii is set to break console sales records in 2008, says analyst group DFC Intelligence - but the PlayStation 3 will beat the Wii's software sales by 2012.

Worldwide console sales can pass the $US 180 million benchmark by 2011 even in an economic slowdown, said the analyst group, since high gas prices encourage people to entertain themselves at home. While the report sees Wii as the likely overall install base leader, it is critical of Microsoft, stating that "for the 80 percent-plus of game consumers that do not play FPS games, the Xbox 360 is not the system of choice."

The sales performance of the PlayStation 3 has been less than stellar, but Sony has survived. The Xbox 360 was unable to take advantage of Sony's struggles to build the type of large lead needed to maintain a long-term advantage. The PS3 survived the onslaught of AAA Xbox 360 titles that hit the market from late 2006 through 2007.

Halo 3 had great sales, but it did very little to enhance the Xbox 360's overall position in the marketplace.

Full report and more stats than you can shake a Wii remote at:

The analysts at DFC Intelligence have gazed into the crystal ball to receive word from the future of the European console war and the news is somewhat of a downer for Sony. But it's far worse for Microsoft. A new report calls for "strong" sales of the PlayStation 3 but that Sony should expect to lose a "big chunk" of the PS2 install base. Wii is expected to dominate, but won't move software like the PS3 may.

The analysing wizards at DFC see an Xbox future filled with doom and gloom, with the 360 "continuing to struggle" in Europe, despite UK acceptance. They have better news for the Euro industry as a whole, with 2008 expected "to break all kinds of sales records." And they all lived happily ever after. The end.

DFC: 360 Likely "Biggest Loser" in Europe [Next-Gen]