Mitchell McEwan

Hmm... some interesting points.

As much as I'd love to I cannot discount Sony this generation. I know all figures are suggesting we do that at the moment, but this thing is far from an Atari Jaguar. Yes, it's true that Sony placed too many bets riding on Blu-Ray and the strength of the Playstation brand, but that doesn't mean that these horses have yet crossed the line.

I think what we are witnessing this generation is a complete reforming of the videogame industry. Nintendo is yet again who we have to thank for this evolution- this time by offering an affordable and unique package that appeals beyond the boundaries of 'gaming geekdom', while also satisfying its inhabitants. This allows opportunity for a 3 way race the likes of which have never been seen.

For although 360 and PS3 currently struggle to set themselves apart from each other, they will find ways to do just that. Until then PS3 will lag behind its competition unless Sony is willing to take a hit on its price. I can't see that happening this year, which means we must look forward to 2008 until PlayStation 3 really starts to find some footing. The question is by then will the 'Wii60' phenomenon have overpowered the giant(by recruiting third parties to where the action is), or will enough ex-PS2 fans finally find reason enough to invest and sway the market once more?

It is worth mentioning that Down-Under PlayStation branding seems to be more blinding than elsewhere in the world. Most guys I talk to about gaming around here just automatically presume that PlayStation 3 is doing amazing this generation, because they don't follow gaming news online and PlayStation has ruled this land for two generations straight. But despite this fact Nintendo is finding its 'blue ocean' here too, and 360 continues to find followers through its impressive software library and online finesse. Despite what all the PlayStation fanboys here say right now I can't see a single reason to push $1000 in their direction, which spells nowhere fast for Sony.

Brian Allen

It's fashionable and downright fun to kick Sony right now. I'm looking at a PS3 dartboard as I type this. But we all know the console race is a marathon, not a sprint. Sony will add rumble capability and they will drop their price by $100, probably before Xmas holiday of 2007.

They have stumbled badly but neither Nintendo or Microsoft has done enough with the time they had ahead. Neither company could put their product in the hands of all the people that wanted one at launch. Many of the ones Microsoft got out are carriers of the dreaded "Red Ring of Doom" Plague and Nintendo is still suffering from shortages.

The ones that got a Wii (including me, so put the pitchforks down Nintendo fans) are already looking at game release schedules that are very GameCube-esque:great first party games and subpar ports.

We haven't even seen the real PS3 yet. It's an 80GB monster with the good software that shows up a year after a console launches. Then we've got a real fight on our hands.