All 3 major game consoles have been released -- Microsoft's Xbox 360, Nintendo's Wii, and Sony's Playstation 3. Out of all of these, the PlayStation 3 appears to be losing. Why? The previous generation console, the PS2, dominated consoles created by Microsoft and Nintendo.
The answer lies in the companies objectives when creating their console. Microsoft basically created something with better graphics, and focused on what was most popular in their previous console: Xbox Live. The graphics aren't a huge leap on all games, but they found what worked. They're doing alright.
Nintendo decided to think outside the box. They wanted to create a controller that would basically reinvent the steering wheel, make gaming more fun, and create something different. The Wii's controller is what makes the Wii popular. The graphics aren't totally great, yet the Wii is selling well.
Sony on the other hand, decided to future-proof their console. They added Blu-ray support, even though games don't really need it right now. Adding megabit ethernet is relatively cheap, so that wasn't much of a stretch. But then on top of that, they created the fastest game console, with the highest graphics card they could possibly afford. Then they see Wii's controller, and attempt to add that to the package as well.
The end result is that although the Xbox 360 and Wii are selling well, and Playstation 3 is lagging. But here is what Sony really did: they tried to create the fastest, best, future-proofed game console. They created a very powerful console, true. But non-geeks don't necesarrily appreciate powerful innards. They want fun. And they don't want to pay an arm and a leg to get it. That's what makes them a gamer. If they were a geek that appreciated the innards and wanted real power, they would buy a computer, or build their own. Not buy from Sony.
So Sony is essentially trying to crush the competitors, believing that content is king. But what they should be doing is aiming at creating a fun package without making people go without supper for a few nights to be able to buy it.
Perhaps Microsoft will find yet another area in which it can dominate. Or maybe Nintendo will be able to regain its former glory. Sony? I doubt it.
