Sony is actually in a better position than before. Sony this gen put a ton of tech into the PS3 and it is paying off. 3D is the big item right now and they are the only conole that supports it. Having BD and DVD playback standard as well as Bluetooth for periferals and full 1080P support puts it ahead of the competition. The price started high and is still higher then the rest however it has done a very good job catching up to the 360 who launched a year before it. While software is an advantage to Microsoft, you need hardware to run it. Generally speaking hardware is developed first then the software is designed to utilize the hardware, not vice versa. Sony has always pushed in this aspect and if the NGP is any indicvation, they will continue to do so. We are at least 10-20 years away from consoles posibly going away and streaming our games. Internet is still far too slow, not available everywhere and with bandwidth limitations on a number of services, isn't exactly a viable option for most people. Hardware is where its at. Sony will continue to make the Playstation brand a center piece of a home entertainment system . If anything and I have said this before, Microsoft will abandon the console market and concentrate on publishing games. It would honestly be in both Microsofts and Nintendos best interest to due so considering they have no other hardware aside from a console. Sonys device has many functions outside of gaming that make it appealing and help to drive down costs for the company accross multiple divisions.
