Let's face it: even though the PS3 is a respectable piece of hardware, it is far from the smashing success that Sony bragged it would be. Pricey hardware at launch, and a paucity of system-selling exclusive titles hindered the system early on, but even now that both have been more or less remedied with price cuts and new SKUs, as well as the release of some truly great exclusive titles, PS3 sales continue to lag far behind their competitors. Here are 10 things that the PS3 needs in order to become truly competitive during this console generation.

1. Better online integration

Sure, the Playstation Network comes free of charge, but the current online implementation is broken, or at least far inferior to Xbox Live. The inability to easily find other gamers, the difficulty with online matchmaking (look no further than Warhawk's woes), and the inability to chat and message with people playing other games really reduce the usability of the service. The fact that Home is being delayed again doesn't help the cause, but the application still will not remedy the legitimate issues with the online service outlined above. It's not too late for Sony to make an integrated Live-style online service a reality... it's just a software update away.

2. A better online marketplace

The Playstation store is slow, clunky, and just doesn't have much to offer compared to the Wii store and the Xbox Live marketplace. The availability of economy games is a great idea in theory, but even at $3, some of these games aren't a very good value. Furthermore, offering demos of every downloadable game is sure to increase sales. I was intruiged by Calling All Cars, but I wasn't about to spend $10 to find out if I'd like it. A demo would really help consumers make an educated purchase. On the 360, I have purchased a ton of games I didn't expect to like after playing the demo.

Also, the noticeable lack of movie and music downloads seriously places it at a disadvantage. The Xbox Live Video Marketplace has become one of the best options for users to download HD movies at a reasonable price, thus forgoing high Blu-Ray and HD-DVD disc prices, and ofsetting the relative difficulty in finding readily-available HD rentals at even large video rental outlets.

3. More exclusive titles

Yes, this problem is being fixed. Heavenly Sword, MotorStorm, and Ratchet and Clank are great games, but none are system-sellers. On the way, we have Uncharted and someday we may see Metal Gear Solid 4 and Gran Turismo 5. The problem with the library right now is that none of these games by themselves are enough to warrant a purchase of a PS3, especially if you own a 360.

4. More compelling cross-platform releases

Much like #3 above, the relative lack of quality of cross-platform titles on the PS3 is hurting sales of games. Despite the theoretically more powerful hardware, PS3 titles often look worse than their 360 counterparts, though this is becoming less and less the case. Also, the lack of achievement points means that many multi-system owners will choose the 360 release over the PS3 release by default.

5. Timelier release dates

Now, this really is in the hands of the third parties, but right now, there is little incentive for publishers to release the PS3 version at the same time as the other console versions. Maybe this is due to the difficulty in programming for the PS3, but when you have marquee titles on the PS3 coming out three or more months after the 360 version, it's a problem. Most people aren't willing to wait that long to play the next big game.

6. Restore backwards compatibility

It's a shame that Sony decided to cut backwards compatibility out of the new budget systems. By their own admission inclusion of software emulation does not significantly increase the cost of the unit, but they're afraid that the ability to play PS2 games is hindering PS3 game sales. This is laughable. What is hindering PS3 game sales is a lack of compelling PS3 games. Fix that, and the problem is solved. The ability to play Gamecube discs hasn't hurt Wii sales, and many would argue that the Virtual Console makes the Wii a more compelling buy. Likewise, the 360 has not suffered because you can play a huge library of original Xbox games. And no one could argue that being able to play PS1 games hurt the PS2... it was a non-issue because the PS2 had excellent games right out of the gate.

Moreover, backwards compatibility is something that many gamers appreciate having. The full-featured backwards compatibility of the Wii allowed me to retire the Gamecube from the gaming shelf, and when I got a PS3, I was able to sell my PS2. Now what happens if my PS3 breaks? Am I going to be forced to buy a new PS2 as well. Sony promised, and even touted backwards compatibility as a strong suit of the system, and I took their word for it. Now, they're going back on their word.

7. Stop supporting the Playstation 2

Yes, I know this may be a bit controversial. Why turn your back on the largest console in recent gaming history, considering the mammoth installed base? But, the simple fact is that Playstation 2 games continue to be released at a fairly healthy clip, and even marquee titles like Madden and Guitar Hero are getting the PS2 treatment. Furthermore, Sony continues to produce new PS2 consoles, and are even releasing a new PS2 bundle. If you want to convince happy Playstation 2 owners that it's time to move on, stop giving them reasons to stay. The system is over seven years old... we got our value out of it. No one is going to cry foul if you stop supporting it in favor of the PS3, just like no one complained when Microsoft quietly put the original Xbox out to pasture.

8. Forget about the Sixaxis and give us our Dual Shock back

Sony made a huge mistake by not settling their issues with Immersion before releasing the PS3. Though they masked their legal woes by explaining that rumble was "last-generation" technology, no one was buying it. They compounded their folly by making the ill-advised decision to integrate motion-sensing technology into the controller, no doubt to compete with the hooplah that was--and still is--the hype about the Wii.

However, the Sixaxis' motion-sensing capabilities have been an unmitigated disaster. There has yet to be a single game in which this feature truly works; Ratchet and Clank has come the closest, but it's still not great. I don't know of anyone who controls Warhawk or MotorStorm with the motion sensing, and it's one of the first things most people disable when playing Heavenly Sword. But, the failure of the controls in those games don't even come close to the fiasco that is Lair. Sixaxis controls single-handedly ruined what could have otherwise been a truly enjoyable game.

The bottom line is that the PS3 controller is not well-suited to be a motion-sensing controller because of the way it is held, and the need to keep using the dozen or so buttons on the controller. Motion controls work for the Wii because the controller is simple and generally held firmly in one hand. Furthermore, the Wii controller has better sensitivity than the Sixaxis.

Luckily, Sony has settled their legal dispute, and the Dual Shock 3 is on the way... just not soon enough. In the meantime, Sony should just forget about motion controls and stop trying to add gimmicks gameplay.

9. Delvier on the promise of Blu-Ray

Not only is the PS3 a high-quality Blu-Ray player, it's also one of the cheapest. But, Blu-Ray has failed to deliver on the promises made early on. What good is all this exclusive studio support if there's nothing to show for it? Casino Royale is great, but where are all the other Bond movies? How about the Disney ****cs? Right now, most Blu-Ray exclusives are mediocre titles that most wouldn't even consider wasting the money to rent. We want the movies we love, not the movies you want to sell to make up for box office shortfalls. Right now, the HD-DVD camp has been going strong, with Universal releasing a ton of catalog titles that people actually want to own. The end result is that I buy HD-DVD over Blu-Ray by a margin of over 5:1. Sony needs to make us need Blu-Ray, and then the PS3 becomes all the more appealing.

10. Stop being so pompous

The only thing people love more than watching an underdog win, is watching the mighty fall. John Romero famously bragged that he was going to make us his b!%@#&s and when Diakatana failed to live up to the hype, he went from the de-facto face of the industry to a has-been almost overnight. Sony flew a little too close to the sun as well with the pre- and post-release hype behind the Playstation 3. A lot of broad claims were made, and few were delivered upon. They laughed knowingly at the high price of the console, figuring that we all trusted the brand enough to spend $700 on promises of what was to come.

As mentioned above, they shrugged off rumble support with a PR spin that totally lacked credibility, and was frankly insulting to gamers. They failed to keep their third parties happy and just assumed that they would remain loyal though the tough times, and ended up losing almost all exclusivity deals. Many of the execs have gone on the record with negative comments about Nintendo and Microsoft that sound less like cogent arguments, and more like sour grapes. On top of that, things they have promised, such as MSG4 and Home keep getting delayed. They wrote a check that they haven't yet been able to cash.

Sony's arrogance and entitlement may have been able to slide if they actually were able to deliver on their promises. As it stands, all they have done is made themselves the preferred target for negative press, and that's started a vicious cycle that they will now have to work doubly hard to break. They've chilled out a little bit, as I think they've begun to learn their lessons in humility. But, some of the members of the Playstation team need to remember that they're speaking on the record, and need to choose their words more carefully.

I have been playing games for over 25 years, and in that time, gamers have experienced both good years and bad years. 2007 has already distinguished itself as a great year, one that I would argue is gaming's best year ever.

In fact, 2007 may be a victim of its own success. With six platforms running strong (Xbox 360, Wii, PS3, PS2, PSP, and DS), and with a ton of titles being released for the holiday season, there's almost too much even for a dedicated gamer to handle!

2007 saw the Xbox 360 grow into its second generation of games, delivering awe-inspiring visuals and incredible gameplay. The Wii has slowly built up its library with a couple of stellar releases that more than makes up for the overall lack of truly great games. The PS3 has finally started to come into its own, with a few great titles, and more coming in just a few short weeks. The stalwart PS2 has yet to be forgotten, with the release of one the best titles ever on the system. In the meantime, the handheld market has had a solid, but unspectacular year that has seen the releases of many decent tiltes to tide you over on your commute.

What has made these games stand out? A lot of it is that we're now seeing the new generation of systems spread their wings after a year or two of existence. The early growing pains of each system's game development challenges are now behind us, and companies can focus more on gameplay and fine-tuning the presentation.

My only beef is that the year has been too lopsided, with a glut of games at the end of the year, after a more modest first two quarters. As someone who has to play a title as soon as it's released, this has left me in a situation where I've had brief one-week flings with most titles, and then moved on. Sadly, this means that I have not been able to delve into the deeper aspects of the gameplay of each title, and I think this is sad.

I mean, I want to play online, but what do I choose? Halo 3? Warhawk? Call of Duty 4? Team Fortress 2? With all of these games getting released in a short timespan, I can't bear to choose one and stick with it. If only each had been released months apart...

Just look at the end of the year: Halo 3, Bioshock, Heavenly Sword, The Orange Box, Call of Duty 4, Super Mario Galaxy, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Guitar Hero 3, Rock Band, Ratchet and Clank, Metroid Prime 3, Assassin's Creed, Mass Effect... how in the heck will there be time to enjoy any of these in full?

I know that companies are all struggling to find their holiday blockbuster, but I think this end-of-year assault on the consumers is counterproductive. Look no further than the success of Halo 3. It crushed every other game in sales for the first few weeks of release. That's great for Halo 3, but it comes at the expense of other titles. Most gamers are more sensible with their dollars than myself, and they choose their purchases carefully. When you have a ton of games come out so close together, certain great games are sure to be lost in the shuffle. And when that happens, everyone loses.

Gamers lose because they miss out on some of the newer IPs, such as Bioshock, which has undersold its potential. Companies lose because only blockbusters with name recognition will sell. In the end, decisions will be made based upon profits, and innovation and quality could suffer. After all, look what happened to Clover, Looking Glass, and now EA Chicago... all of them made truly great games, but in the end, the bottom line made more of a difference to their parent companies than the quality of their products. We've been fortunate that the sequels produced this year have been incredibly solid, but I lament that it may be another few years until we see something so incredibly fresh as Bioshock.

I beg you, publishers: please re-evaluate your release policy. 2007 has been gaming's greatest year, but many consumers will not fully appreciate how true this is because they will not get a chance to play all the games that has made this year so great. Gamers are adults now... fewer and fewer gamers rely upon Santa Claus to bring them games. Most of us have jobs and a disposable income, and we like playing games year round. By releasing marquee titles throughout the year, you will give us more time to appreciate the hard work and craftsmanship that goes into each game before we feel compelled to move on to the next gaming experience. I think we'd all see that it could only be a good thing for gaming, and a solid business decsion.

I'll close with a list of what I feel are the noteworthy games for the consoles. Gamers with short memories can keep this on hand, so that once next spring's dry spell is upon us, you can go back and revisit gaming's greatest year ever.

XBOX 360

Bioshock
Forza Motorsport 2
Halo 3
Puzzle Quest
Carcassonne

PLAYSTATION 3

Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
Heavenly Sword
Warhawk

WII

Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
Wario Ware: Smooth Moves

PLAYSTATION 2

Odin Sphere
God of War II

CROSS-PLATFORM

The Orange Box
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2

ON THE HORIZON

Mass Effect
Super Mario Galaxy
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Assassin's Creed
Rock Band
Kane and Lynch: Dead Men

A big thank you to Rockstar and Konami for delaying their big games until 2008. I have enough to keep my occupied until then...

Well, last week was a big one for the next generation disc format war. Paramount and Dreamworks have decided to back HD-DVD exclusively. This, I think, really turns the tide in favor of HD-DVD. Quite frankly, I'm more interested in HD-DVD's exclusive supporters than Blu-Ray's exclusive locks.

I am now the proud owner of an HD-DVD drive, and already, I have purchased more HD-DVDs in just a few weeks than I had in almost a year with Blu-Ray.

The war is far from over, but the Blu-Ray camp has an increasingly difficult battle ahead of them.

Welcome to my first blog post! I wasn't sure if the world really needed another spring of grumpy rants, and maybe it doesn't, but I figured it was high time to throw my hat into the ring anyway and let the world wide public be the judge.

So, folks, the high-def format war is really a pain in my posterior. To give you a frame of reference, I am just old enough to remember the VHS and Betamax war back in the early days of home entertainment. Beta had superior quality, but VHS had the support of the then-emerging home market for adult entertainment. Pretty soon, VHS became the standard, and reigned supreme until the late 1990's. Aside from the adult film industry, however, pretty much the same mainstream content was available on both formats, so when both formats were still going strong, you weren't really missing out on anything by siding with one format.

Fast forward to the present day, and we're knee-deep in another format war, albeit a war that fewer people care about, since most people are still satisfied with what standard DVD has to offer. But, for those of us looking to enjoy movies that truly justify the cost in both time and money of maintaining a home theater, the format war is proving to be nothing more than frustration, which grows by leaps and bounds with each passing moment.

While there have been some major events to sway the tide in recent months, there is--in my opinion--still no clear winner at the present time. The reason why? It all boils down to mainstream content and industry support.

Unlke the Betamax/VHS divide, the Blu-Ray/HD-DVD competition is not about quality, and it's not about the availability of adult entertainment. The latter's effect on the market has essentially been nullified by the widespread availability of pornography on the internet. Though the adult film industry has sided with HD-DVD, their endorsement hardly carries the same weight it did back in the early 1980's, when video was the only way to view adult films in the privacy of your own home.

In terms of quality, Blu-Ray and HD-DVD titles utilize much of the same encoding technology, and at the present time, the difference in video and audio quality is practically indistinguishable on most titles. While Blu-Ray does have extra storage space, the truth of the matter is that both formats are capable of hosting a high-quality transfer of a 2 1/2 hour movie, and still have tons of space to spare. In fact, it would seem that some HD-DVD titles are actually launching with more extra content than their Blu-Ray counterparts. So, in terms of storage, Blu-Ray's extra gigabytes don't seem, at the present time, to really confer an advantage.

The main argument that emerges when pundits discuss the format war is support. Blu-Ray has five companies which exclusively support the format, among them Disney and Sony (big surprise), while HD-DVD has only one exclusive supporter in Universal Studios. The remainder seem to split their efforts between the two formats, though Warner has given slightly more content to the HD-DVD camp (most notably the vastly overrated Matrix trilogy). Ask anyone from Sony, and they will cite this wealth of exclusive support as the reason why Blu-Ray will win the format war.

Companies sure seem to be listening, because in recent weeks, Blockbuster and Target have made decisions to increase their support for the Blu-Ray format, though they will still give some shelf space to HD-DVD. Many point to these events as even more reasons why HD-DVD's days are numbered. But, are they?

Currently, I am a Blu-Ray owner. Sony got their claws in me with the PlayStation 3, which spins the hi-def format right out of the box. It is an impressive format, to be sure, and Casino Royale is reason enough to jump into Blu-Ray (coincidentally, it's also the best piece of software I currently own for my PS3... perhaps a topic for another post). But, each time I browse the aisles at my local Best Buy, looking for a new disc, I find myself increasingly frustrated with the selection of Blu-Ray titles.

Blu-Ray has exclusive support, but where are the really impressive exclusive titles? We've got Casino Royale, but where are the rest of the Bond films? We've got Disney support, but where is Aladdin, Toy Story, or Beauty and the Beast? Right now, most of the exclusive Blu-Ray titles are crappy films designed for the lowest common denominator. If anyone can name a worthwhile Blu-Ray exclusive besides Casino Royale or the Pirates series, I'd love to hear a reply.

Meanwhile, look at all of the AMAZING exclusives for HD-DVD: The Big Lebowski, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, Brokeback Mountain, The Game, The Deer Hunter, The Breakfast Club, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Army of Darkness, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Animal House, Caddyshack, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Happy Gilmore, and Million Dollar Baby are just a few of the titles that can only be found on HD-DVD. While they may not all be reference quality in terms of hi-def presentation, they remain the only way to watch these movies on a hi-def disc format.

Bottom line is that while Blu-Ray theoretically has the support, there really isn't much in the way of good or even passable content to show for it. The result is a library of discs that just makes me yawn. In the meantime, Universal has been cranking out a slew of discs that I would actually want to own, giving HD-DVD a massive edge in terms of exclusive content.

So, what does this all mean? Unless studios decide to bring desirable catalog releases to Blu-Ray soon, I'll likely be purchasing an HD-DVD add-on for my 360, and begin to purchase HD-DVD titles at a rate of at least 5 to 1.

Blu-Ray, you may be good, but until Universal caves and puts the same effort behind Blu-Ray they've put behind HD-DVD, this battle is far from over.