Richard Lackinger

Well I hope for Sony's sack, they do not wait until 2009 to make there move. If I were Sony I would not discount Microsoft because it has a relatively high failure rate. A high failure rate is something that can be fixed in a rather short period of time by extending warranties and rectifying the hardware malfunction. As Sony sinks deeper into the mud a quick fix becomes more and more unlikely. One big exclusive title won't cut it unless that title is Halo 3 (doh).

Anyway, I hope Sony is not going to be consistent and handle the PS3 like it's other systems. I think the very nature of this business demands that you change with the market. Xbox wasn't around when PS2 took hold and Microsoft's presence has changed the landscape. If Sony doesn't adjust then I think they are in for a big surprise come 2009.

Also I would not ignore Nintendo and consider it just a fad. The quickest road to defeat is to underestimate the competition and I think Sony is very much guilty of that. If you think Nintendo is hording console just look at April's NPD hardware numbers. 360,000 Wii's are a huge number of consoles to have had available for consumers to purchase in one month (and I still can't find one). I agree that I'm worried about the visuals on the Wii holding up in the long run, but honestly I still want one.

Sony does have some good first party games lined up in the distance but they are just little dots on the horizon and can barely be seen right now. What can be seen are what console are being bought right now, and you can bet that the majority of third-party developers are looking at those tangible numbers versus what might be in 2009. Those developers are planning there release lists years in advanced and based on what they are seeing now I think Sony will have a long drought of third party exclusives in the years to come. The question will be can Sony's first party titles be enough to keep them in the game. I think that is a good possibility (look at Nintendo's past consoles), but I don't think it will be enough to keep them in the lead.

Of course games will play a major role in this, but I think the Blu-Ray disc will also be pivotal. The extra space on a PS3 disc is definitely an advantage, unfortunately it is also the cause of the PS3's high price tag which I think is also it's biggest handicap. My prediction is that the PS3 will help make the Blu-Ray disc the format of choice but at the cost of the PS3 being bumped down to third. Either way Sony stands to profit, I just don't think they will remain the top powerhouse in the console market.

Thomas Barton

I think the current market status of all three consoles right now is how this generation is going to play out, especially for the PS3. Plain and simple the PS3 is not going to be number one this generation and can only hope to be a "technical" number two. Meaning the PS3 will be number two in America and Europe but not overall. The first year of a systems life sets the tone for the rest of its run as we saw with both the N64 and the GameCube, the PS3s poor start is already scaring away developers and making them take their products to the Xbox 360.

If that wasn't enough the system has a high price tag, developers face higher production cost and the Wii continues to be the darling child of both the gaming press and more importantly the main stream press. The mistake Sony made is they tried to skip over a generation and now they are going to pay for it in a big way! Yet there is always hope, the PS3 is still the most powerful system out there and with a major price cut before August of this year and at least three must-have games it could very well make a slow come back.

Bobby Stein

Sony is in it for the long haul. It was a conscious (and questionable) decision to pack Blu-ray into every PS3, but Sony is an entertainment company looking to counter Microsoft's Trojan horse for control of the living room experience. Right now the two biggest hurdles it must overcome are pricing and software. The PS3 is by a large margin the most expensive console on the market, but no games available for it demonstrate that it can do anything above and beyond the competition. Until the price comes down and the games library goes up, sales will likely be a slow burn as the early adopter base seems tapped out.

The high definition DVD format war is in its infancy. We won't know if Blu-ray is the winner or if HD DVD is the next standard for years to come. Frankly, most gamers couldn't care less. And if you don't live in Japan, what difference does it make if PS3 has a lead over Xbox 360 in one territory? Right now the 360 is top dog in terms of installed base and games in nearly every international territory.

Last generation proved that the machine with the most muscle isn't the automatic winner. Between Nintendo's Wii appealing to the casual crowd and Xbox 360 servicing the core market, Sony is left servicing its dwindling fan base. Until the price comes in line, the PS3 just won't sell the kind of numbers that Sony needs. That's bad news for third party publishers looking to support it. People won't buy the system unless it has good games, but what publisher will put its full muscle behind software support if there aren't any customers?

Sony has said on more than one occasion that the PS3 is future proof, that it will be a viable entertainment platform for the next decade. If that's the case, we'll likely see a similar shift in sales like when the original Xbox briefly outpaced PS2. It takes developers a few years to really push a system hard. Maybe by 2012 we'll see some titles that justify that $599 price tag. Until then, it'll be the last horse to cross the finish line.