History will be kind to the PS3

For all the mismanagement Sony engaged in with the PS3, I believe history will be quite kind to the PS3.

Here's why:

1) The Console wars won't have a "loser".

The PS3 was clearly in a position to be the only console in danger of not surviving this round of consoles. However, with the system now turning a profit on each new unit sold, AND the number of unique games in 2008 make sure the console will be around for a while.

2) The format wars are over, and the winner is not Blu Ray, but the PS3.

Sony made a genius move including a blu ray player in every PS3. Not because Blu Ray is the wave of the future, but because the PS3 does what no other High Definition (Blu Ray or HD DVD) player does. It connects to the internet wirelessly and can save to a hard drive. The PS store WILL become Sony's launch pad for high definition movie downloads. You plug a DVD upscaler, a blu ray player, an upgradable hard drive and a wireless connection into the same device and sneak them into 10+ million households and you have a serious avenue for pushing content. It helps that blu ray won, but every PS3 owner will feel like a genius when they download thier first high definition movie and realize how smart the purchase turned out to be. Sony doesn't care if blu ray ultimately has a shelf life of 4 or 5 years, because they have snuck the replacement into the consumers household without the consumer being aware of it.

3) The next big game is coming.

Every console is going to have fun games. They will all have kick butt exclusives, and they will all have thier moments to shine. However, the developers are eventually going to want to push the envelope. Sooner or later someone is going to want to take things to the next level, and when they do they are going to look at the consoles out there and make a conscious decision to use the PS3. Why? Power!!! The next big game is coming, and it is going to be a power hog! It always is. It's going to utilize every drop of power the developers can find and before the first line of code is written the Wii and Xbox360 will already be out of consideration.

This generation of consoles has already proven to be the most competitive and the most successful to date. All three systems will do quite well, and the consumers will ultimately be the winner. That said, the PS3 will have the longest lifespan, and will be the console on which the next generation of consoles will be patterned (the whole home entertainment hub thing).

Mark my words, the PS3 will reach a higher level of saturation than even the PS2. If you are reading this you will own a PS3 by 2010

I already own a PS3 :)

Seems like advertising worked well on you. Poor boy.

Play B3yond, This Is Living.

1. The console wars will probably have a loser this gen. The GC and Xbox lost last gen and unless the eventual marketshare will be something like 40-30-30 or 33-33-33 there will be a loser. Actually, the 33-33-33 could already be considered a loss for Sony, considering they held about 60% of the market last gen.

2. The fact that the PS3 has a Blu-ray player indeed means it wins something. But the real winner in this situation is the BDA. The PS3 wont be the only Blu-ray player on the market, and it wont be the cheapest one either. Oh and digital distribution for movies is something that a lot of people really dislike. Most people just want to have the movie at home. A movie they can take to a friends house.

3. Power is something that isnt all that important. It obviously has a lot of benefits. But if there's one thing that 2007 taught us, its power =/= everything. Super Mario Galaxy was the highest rated game of 2007 and possibly the game with the most GOTY awards. And its obvious that it wasnt because it made use of the latest shader technology.

Funny thing. Sony seems to be downplaying the other features of the PS3.

1. The console wars will probably have a loser this gen. The GC and Xbox lost last gen and unless the eventual marketshare will be something like 40-30-30 or 33-33-33 there will be a loser. Actually, the 33-33-33 could already be considered a loss for Sony, considering they held about 60% of the market last gen.

2. The fact that the PS3 has a Blu-ray player indeed means it wins something. But the real winner in this situation is the BDA. The PS3 wont be the only Blu-ray player on the market, and it wont be the cheapest one either. Oh and digital distribution for movies is something that a lot of people really dislike. Most people just want to have the movie at home. A movie they can take to a friends house.

3. Power is something that isnt all that important. It obviously has a lot of benefits. But if there's one thing that 2007 taught us, its power =/= everything. Super Mario Galaxy was the highest rated game of 2007 and possibly the game with the most GOTY awards. And its obvious that it wasnt because it made use of the latest shader technology.

Can-o-Mark

1. It depends on how you define lost. Mattel lost, Atari lost. Sega lost. All of the customers lost because they bought a system that didn't survive to give them their money's worth. The companies lost because they had to change direction or leave the market entirely. That's how you loose. Market share means squat. Nintendo was third in market share last generation, but it made more money off of consoles than Sony did. Hardly a loss.

2. To the contrary. I am saying that the BDA LOST TOO!!! They will ultimately not last long enough for people to view the players worth investment. The drives won't be in production very long as stand alone players and will ultimately be forced to become something of a Internet/Hard Drive/Blu Ray Hybrid to be sellable to consumers.

3. I'm not arguing that today's games with today's technology aren't fun and can't be appealling (even the best of the year). I am saying that despite the appeal of motion sensitivity the next EVOLUTION in gaming won't be on the Wii (or the Xbox 360 for that matter) merely because the people looking to make that evolutionary jump will likely opt for the more powerful system.

1. It depends on how you define lost. Mattel lost, Atari lost. Sega lost. All of the customers lost because they bought a system that didn't survive to give them their money's worth. The companies lost because they had to change direction or leave the market entirely. That's how you loose. Market share means squat. Nintendo was third in market share last generation, but it made more money off of consoles than Sony did. Hardly a loss.

2. To the contrary. I am saying that the BDA LOST TOO!!! They will ultimately not last long enough for people to view the players worth investment. The drives won't be in production very long as stand alone players and will ultimately be forced to become something of a Internet/Hard Drive/Blu Ray Hybrid to be sellable to consumers.

3. I'm not arguing that today's games with today's technology aren't fun and can't be appealling (even the best of the year). I am saying that despite the appeal of motion sensitivity the next EVOLUTION in gaming won't be on the Wii (or the Xbox 360 for that matter) merely because the people looking to make that evolutionary jump will likely opt for the more powerful system.

Sheonmd