In a world without xbox

[MikeB]

I think it would have saved Sony a lot of negative US media press coverage and internet fanboy trolling.

On the other hand, IMO the 360 does somewhat serve a technical stepping stone from PC to PS3. The 360 has some crucial technical differences compared to the PS3, making it easier to port PC orientated games to the 360, but most of the PS3 development requirements also benefit 360 game engine design, having high end gaming development focus shift from PC gaming to consoles is IMO a long term benefit for the PS3.

In the end I think the existence of the 360 won't have too much of a negative impact on the PS3. I do think RRoD, disc scratching issues and such are bad news for unaware non-hardcore consumers who may have bought a 360 in all the confusion. I also think with regard to some aspects the PS3 got rushed in certain ways (like firmware updates) because of the 360's head start (and HD DVD) on the market. IMO a more polished early experience regarding both the 360 (hardware) and PS3 (software) would have been beneficial to game console reputation in general. I would have preferred if the 360 would have been released a year later and the PS3 worldwide a half year later as well, taking care of such early issues.