When the PS3 was first announced with a $600 price tag, I knew they were shooting themselves in the foot. It's not that the PS3 isn't worth $600 (and its current respective price). It was that the price tag was not relatively consumer friendly as past and present consoles were priced. If there were anything to be called a "wake up call," it would be the price of the PS3.
Because of this, it forces SONY to push their 1st and 2nd party support stronger than they ever had, producing a wide range of quality titles. It also forces them to continue to improve the PSN which has come a long way since the PS3's launch. And what's also interesting is that the PS3 is still getting plenty of third party support with third party exclusives. SONY does not have the deep pockets such as Microsoft, and they do not have the profits earned by Nintendo. And with the smallest console userbase and being the most difficult console to program, third parties are still announcing and making exclusives for the PS3. So could it be plausible that in the long run since the launch of the PS3 (maybe now), SONY made the right decision of hardware choice? Third party developers are still heavily backing the PS3. Interesting indeed.
And it's pretty safe to say that the PS3 will not repeat the success of the PSOne and PS2 hardware sales and software selectionwise at least in the foreseeable future. But sadly, this goes for all current gen non-handheld consoles. The Wii has the hardware sales, but not the variety the PSOne/PS2 had, but that's the closest we'll come so far. Currently it's the DS/PSP combo that offers very similar variety and quality software that the PSOne/PS2 enjoyed.
But since this topic is in regards to SONY and the PS3, at the very least SONY is pushing a quality product with quality offerings. I personally think that the initial $600 price tag was a double edged sword. The price tag is the biggest deterrent for consumers to buy a PS3. In all probability, I see the PS3 remaining in third place. But quality hardware and strong support from all parties exclusive titles and multi-platform is what's been maintaining respectable demand for a third place console. The PS3 has a lot to offer to gamers, and I cannot see why this will not hold true in the foreseeable future. Because the PS3 can be maintained as a viable option that caters to gamers and continues to cater to gamers, it's a winner because it's doing its job as a gaming console.
Hackers are poor nerds who don't wash.
