The Hype

Pre launch, Nintendo achieved an impressive marketing campaign.  Through press releases and announcements it managed to introduce the world to a console with a different controller and control scheme, get the public accustomed to an admittedly ridiculous console name, and made claims about its new system that the final product actually lived up to.  Sony... not so much. 

Expecting backlash and outcry about the cost of the PS3, Sony made ludicrous claims ("It's a computer!") about the superiority of its new console, was fraught with technical issues that made bigger news than anything the company actually announced, had several first and third party games, expected at launch, become delayed - some indefinitely - and was exposed as being less than truthful about the differences between its differently priced systems.  Nintendo turned bewilderment into interest and positive buzz while Sony took a leading position and turned a large portion of its fan base against it.  These, in retrospect, were not the wisest moves the company could have made.

The Post-Launch Problems

No new system launch goes off without a hitch.  Look at the issues Microsoft faced with a large number of its initial Xbox 360's and you'll see just how badly things can go for a manufacturer selling a brand new system.  Compared to that debacle both Sony and Nintendo have had things pretty easy.  Of the issues that did occur, however, Sony has taken the brunt of the bad.  The PS3 launch itself was a hideous affair with stampeding crowds, event cancellations, mob-related injuries, and an actual shooting, while Nintendo's launch day went comparatively smooth as satin undies. 

In terms of actual system problems, Nintendo found they had a faulty strap for many of the Wii-mote controllers and had to issue replacements.  PS3 players complain about Bluetooth failures mid-game.  Neither issue is major, but as a gamer I know which one I'd rather deal with.  Nintendo has had to face a wii bit of controversy due to mishaps, injuries, and damaged HDTV screens caused by overzealous players flinging their bodies and their controllers around the room while playing various Wii games, but rather than putting people off the Wii those reports seem to have made the system more popular.  Go figure.

The Games

With any console it is the games that matter.  Nintendo and Sony both have fairly lackluster catalogs available for their new systems, but Nintendo scored big with its first party title The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.  Sony has only one must play game on the PS3 so far, the FPS Resistance: Fall of Man.  That game alone is not selling consoles. 70,000 copies of R:FoM were sold at launch, a figure that translates to roughly one for every three PS3s sold. Twilight Princess, however, sold at a rate of three copies for every four Wii consoles.  That is a game that is moving systems all on its own.

Sony may have more worries in this area in the near future.  Once Playstation-exclusive franchises like Grand Theft Auto are appearing on other systems and the rumor mill is rampant about exclusivity losses for Sony in the future.  It is confirmed that we will see a 360 version of Virtua Fighter 5 (announced by Sega on January 2) and there's a good chance it will make it to the Wii as well.  Additional buzz exists about titles as hallowed as Metal Gear Solid 4 and even the next Final Fantasy.  If these games make it to other systems it will translate to fewer reasons to drop coin on a PS3 for many gamers who are eagerly awaiting such titles.