Conventional wisdom among pundits following the current generation "console wars" has been that the XBOX 360 is soundly defeating Sony's PS3 (I will not compare Nintendo's Wii because of its dissimilarity with the other two systems). The reason why Microsoft is beating Sony, however, is a far more interesting question. From a technical standpoint, the PS3 clearly has the advantage, being a superior piece of hardware in almost every way. Compared to the 360, the PS3 can generate crisper graphics, has a more innovative control scheme, has integrated, well, everything, and is free of the kind of widespread and crippling design flaws that keep a steady stream of 360s with "three red lights" flowing in and out of Microsoft customer service. However, the simple fact that the 360 debuted almost a full year before the PS3 had several benefits that ensured its seat at the top.

First is the issue of price. The fact that the 360 was released so early meant that Microsoft was able to recover R&D costs in time to lower the price of the 360 right before the PS3's launch. Cost is a critical factor for most American households considering the purchase of a gaming console, and the 360's price drop exacerbated the price gap between the two consoles that already existed because of the PS3's fully integrated roster of expensive extras.

Second is the issue of game selection. One of the more striking aspects of the PS3's launch was the dearth of engaging, or exclusive, launch titles. However, this is not at all unusual for a game system. Many times, studios are reluctant to invest in the production of too many games for a new system. This is largely due to the fact that learning to program games for new systems is fairly expensive, and the consumer bases for games is small compared to established hardware. Indeed, few seem to remember that the 360 had a somewhat similar problem during its initial launch. By the time of the PS3's launch, however, there was a plethora of titles to choose from on the 360.

Third is the issue of achievements. The achievement system for the 360 was truly a stroke of genius. Essentially, what achievements say to a gamer is, "If a game comes out for multiple platforms, we will reward you for choosing to play the 360 version". In effect, this means that if a gamer owns a 360 and a PS3, they will only buy PS3 games if they are exclusive titles. Furthermore, if Sony decided to implement something similar, it will have far less of an impact, due to the huge investments of time and effort 360 owners have put into establishing a hefty gamerscore.

So what is Sony to do? Is there any way they can begin to make a comeback? The answer is, simply put, to go where Microsoft cannot follow, or at least where Microsoft has not yet gone. You see, Sony already has another established brand targeted at gamers. Furthermore, this brand has already gone through its introductory period, and is finally starting to get really exciting and engaging titles. I am, of course, referring to the PSP, and the best way for Sony to enhance the attractiveness of the PS3 is to fully integrate the PSP.

When I say fully integrated, I mean just that. Every game, for both PSP and PS3, needs to reward you for wirelessly connecting your PSP to your PS3. PS3 games should have video, pictures, audio, and even possibly little mini-games that can be loaded onto a PSP, and only accessed from a PSP. The mini-games might be a little bit of a stretch, but it would still be very cool and entirely feasible to beam from the PS3 to the PSP "making of" featurettes, concept art galleries, and selections from the soundtrack of your favorite game. Basically, give PSP owners a way to take some part of the game with them. Turn the PSP from a purely stand-alone system, to a portable extension of the PS3.

Similarly, you should be able to play PSP games on your TV through your PS3. Additionally, it would be wise of Sony to institute their own "achievement" system on both platforms, and your Sony "gamerscore" should be affected by both PS3 and PSP games. In this way, Sony might have a chance at catching up with Microsoft, as gamers would be able to augment their "Sony Gamerscore" anytime, and anywhere, rather than just in front of their televisions.

If Sony is going to do anything like this, thoug, they had better hurry. Microsoft has been pushing their Zune heavily recently, and it's only a matter of time before they offer cross-platform extras for connecting a Zune. As with everything, timing is everything, and if Sony doesn't do something to bridge the PS3 and PSP before Microsoft can do something big to bridge the Zune and 360, then it may be time to admit defeat.