Will the PS3 EVER reach 40 million?

[Final-Fan]

Dodece said:
I cannot help but notice that others attacked me, but did not explain one critical thing. Where the hell is the PS3 to get these sales. What will be the impetus to maintain the current level of sales. Do not make the same mistake again, and just assume that it being a Playstation means it will sell ten million a year.

The console is out of price position, has the weaker high definition library, has fewer exclusives, and is most likely fast running out of early adopters. Yes eventually the console must actually sell on merit, and that usually means the console must have a positive differentiation from its competition. Basically the PS3 is a pale imitation of the 360. That is a huge problem that not even Nintendo had to deal with. No matter what Nintendo was always a strange alternative. Their first party lineup was a drastic high quality departure from the competition. Sony doesn't even have that. They cannot be the less popular, but still viable alternative.

Why wouldn't it maintain sales?  It's ALWAYS been most expensive; it's ALWAYS had fewer exclusives/big games (due to the 360's head start) but is catching up, proportionally speaking; etc.  You must have a pretty funny definition of "early adopters" since the year we just finished was the SECOND FULL YEAR of PS3 sales. 

"Positive differentiation", huh.  Well, it's true that BOTH the PS3 and 360 suffer from that problem.  The 360 has excellent unique draws like Halo, Gears of War, RRoD (oops how did that slip in there), many good RPGs, Forza Motorsport etc.  But the PlayStation has hardly run out of its own unique draws.  From the PS2 era have returned MGS, Gran Turismo, Ratchet & Clank, etc. etc.  (I never had a PS2 so I'm sure you can fill this in more easily than I can off the top of my head.)  Maybe it's misled you that the PS2 had SO many great franchises, many exclusive, that the PS3 can bleed exclusives like crazy (DMC, FF, etc.) and still have plenty left to distinguish itself.  Anyway, we also can see great new franchises like Resistance, Uncharted, Motorstorm, and LBP.  There is nothing like LBP on the 360. 

Pale imitation -- you do realize that the PS3 has sold better than the 360 did at the same point in its life?  In my opinion, the worst thing that can happen to a console in terms of differentiation is to become the "odd man out".  So, it would be very bad for the PS3 if the console war was seen by people as "the Wii winning against the 360, and oh yeah there's that other one, the PS3".  But there is absolutely no danger of that happening IMO since there has been SO much to happen involving it.  Blu-ray is one obvious thing, it's the only one that plays it and it helped Blu-ray win against HD DVD.  Even losing FFXIII's exclusivity, a major blow to Sony and the PS3, keeps it in the public consciousness.  This fear of anonymity is why some say "any publicity is good publicity". 

I hate to spend so much effort on what is basically an apologetic for the PS3; I have all 3 consoles and have no favorite.  But I felt it needed to be done.