What was first, chicken or egg? :D

bad sales --> less deals at retail --> bad sales

I just can repeat what I saw at my local stores in Germany. There were plenty of PS3-bundles

• PS3 80GB, Little Big Planet + Fifa09 399€ (two high profile games is noticeable)
• PS3 80GB, Resistance2 + Fifa09 399€
• PS3 80GB, BluRay Movie, remote 399€
• PS3 80GB, Motorstorm PR 399€

so the PS3 gets the needed attention

In Italy I'd blame only price, last Xmas PS3 in the biggest chain was second as shelf space and position goodness in the stores, after XB360, but before Wii, while this Xmas I saw it in pole position in a lot of megastores, and differently from last year, there where offers with lower than official retail price too (LBP bundle, for example, was available in large quanity at 20€ less than official retail price BEFORE clearance sales and even before Xmas itself, but it was still too expensive for the average italian wages).

If retailer bias figures in, than it's not so much a blame for retailers as it is a fault for Sony. If Sony wanted to incentivize the PS3 more (which most don't), thats their choice to do it. If MS is offering retailers better deals...Why wouldn't you want to sell their product?

Imagine 2 competing products in any market - One is cheaper, better marketed, sells better, and has a higher profit margin, and one is more expensive, poorly marketed, sells worse, and has a lower profit margin (again, for the retailers)....Which product is the retailer going to pick?

It's simple economics, folks. Sony could incentivize the PS3 more, and sell more. But that's entirely their call.

In the uk id blame the fact there are at least 20 xbox adds a day, and about 2 PS3 ones

It doesn't help when every other month or so sites like yahoo post articles about a price cut for the PS3 that never comes. Who would buy a console when if they wait a month or two they can get it for $100 less? Too bad that month or two will turn into a year and some change.

There are definitely some Catch 22 problems involved, but those don't happen randomly out of bad luck... If the PS3 had sold better not long after launch, retailers would have invested more in it.

Blockbuster pretty heavely promotes the PS3. The ones I go to always have the blu-ray movie playing through one on a huge HDTV in the entrance of the store. And there is always a stack of BB exclusive PS3 bundles near by.

Wait, did you say you got this at last week sale or this this week sale?  I need to know if I have to stop by my local BB....

i think that the main problem is the price, because the ps3 have a great game library and with the line up in 09 is going to be like 10x better, but with this bad press of the ps3, the economic situation and the ps3 being the most expensive console, all that hurts the sales. lets hope for a price cut in 09 that should turn around things. i think that the ps3 is selling good with all this obstacles.

most game stores advertise the 360, while leaving the wii and ps3 behind. yes.... they are to blame, somewhat.