Lets talk about the PStriple, the ill fated third generation of Sony's popular, and before now, quite excellent consoles. I'm afraid that the PS3 makes me pity Sony a bit, and makes me wonder where they are going to go from here.
For those not in the know, Sony's console is not doing well. Lets look at the numbers. Nintendo's new Wii has been one of the fastest selling consoles of all time, doing exceptionally well with 8.61m sales to date. Microsoft's popular Xbox 360 console is doing very well, with just over 12 million consoles sold. But the Playstation 3 isn't doing so hot. Sony has moved 3.67m consoles. Whats more, they lose $250 dollars per console sold. Ouch.
Ive always been a bit of a Nintendo kid. Raised on Mario, Pokemon, and Metroid. But I love my PS2, and play it to death. I would like nothing more than for there to be an affordable PS3. But, as it stands, I have a Wii, and intend to buy an Xbox 360 soon enough, but the PS3 has zero appeal. Yes, they have some nice franchises. It is unfortunate that the Metal Gear Solid, Ninja Gaiden, and Final Fantasy empires are stuck with the PS3. But, they aren't really enough to convince me to drop $600 dollars on one. The Wii holds a lot of appeal, with its low price, solid franchises, and excellence for parties. The Xbox is more of a traditional gaming machine, popular for its shooters and widely used online multi-player, which is why I intend to get one. But the PS3 just can't do anything that those two can't, and I'm not really willing to set my wallet on fire for sharper graphics or more texture in my characters' unrealistic animu hair. Not worth it.
So, the situation is an interesting one. What can Sony do? I know they plan to knock the price down a few bucks around Christmas this year, but that can't be much help. They will just increase their loss per console, and I doubt anyone will really go for it anyway. They could release a PS3 Lite or something, dumb down the processors, chips, or whatever else is costing them 850 dollars, but I bet that would screw the hell out of the companies who are producing games for the console.
So, its a dead end. I dont know, perhaps PS3 sales will pick up. It's a good thing that PSP sales arent that bad, although the Nintendo DS beats them into a bloody pulp in the dark city alley that is sales numbers.
Perhaps Sony can find the weapon they need to win the Console War, but it looks like Nintendo and Microsoft beat them to the punch.
