Anyone who believes the PS3 was ever going to do PS2 numbers is either fooling themselves or they're inflating probabilities to create a bigger drop. Microsoft killed the Xbox so they could launch the 360 early and they were willing to spend billions of dollars on marketing and exclusives. That Sony was going to lose some market share was a foregone conclusion, never mind the Wii being an unexpected hit. I just hope all these people who believe that total units sold in one generation have to be surpassed in the the next or the console is a failure remember their positions down the line so they don't end up looking like hypocrites.
Something to remember about the PS3 is that it bears the financial burden of Blu-Ray for the sake of other divisions. By rights, the cost should have been differed to the company at large, or perhaps the film division, and it's quite likely that it's viewed that way internally, which is why Sony considers gaming to be a primary focus. I think they understand that if you take away that factor then the PS3 was a successful product. Because of Blu-Ray, the gaming division can't be considered in a vacuum, not in a realistic, real-world sense.
