But seriously tho - where did PS3 go wrong?

[DraconianAC]

Oh, this is a very easy question for me. I have a lot of critiques against my PS3 console.

1. Sony was arrogant in the beginning of the 7th generation. The Price was high for the system, and they didn't take the humble approach towards the consumer. (Thus the famous quote that people will work two jobs to own a PS3)

2. They botch the marketing in the beginning. I'm not really sure why myself, but it seems a lot of people didn't understand the approach and understanding the value of this expensive system, it turn people away from the machine.

3. (This one is huge) The online was free but gamers demanded a better experience than Sony was providing for free. I personally bought the PS3 for the free online because I was not ready to pay, but THEY REALLY DIDN'T improve the online experience. Yes, they tweaked it here and there, but failed to provide what they were marketing. The PS3 didn't do everything. (It didn't play Loss-less files, MKVs, It got rid of Linux, Its music player is crap and outdated [why on why can't it fast forward faster, and no updates to the visuals!!], updating games takes a long time, they failed to really improve the internet browser and incorporate the keyboard and mouse.

(Basically I'll say that when I first got my PS3, I didn't use my PC for a month. I really tried all the components of the PS3 and I wouldn't have return to the PC if the PS3 became seamless with my online surfing, youtube/video watching, music playing, etc., experience. Sony botched it big time. I would have loved to be here typing to you through my PS3, but no. Sony didn't optimize their Operating Interface and it also failed to get application support like android, Linux, and Windows has.)

4. The PS3 was difficult to program for and Sony drop the ball in not showing outside third parties how to use it better and providing all the help they could so that more game/app developers would have jump in the wagon of the play station family.

(It is my believe that this is the reason they lost a lot of the market to the the Xbox. Many developers basically gave the middle finger to Sony until it understood that people would not come to the company, it was the other way around. And I'm glad Sony understood, but to what level? I don't know. I've yet to buy a PS4)

5. (My opinion) I bought the PS3 for Japanese RPGs, but the 7th generation Japanese RPGs didn't arrive soon enough to the PS3 life cycle to persuade the American market to buy a PS3 over an Xbox, since many of the JRPGs could also be played on Microsoft machine.

6. (My opinion) The 7th generation to me was defined by a vast of first/third person shooter games. The PS3 Duel Shock 3 controller is not optimized for this genre. (It has always been very hard for me to hold L2 with my middle finger, my hand just keeps lowering my middle finger to get a better grip on the controller. It's annoying.

There is probably more things, but I'll just summarize what I think Sony did wrong, and could possibly still be doing wrong on the next generation: Sony's dream was to have consumers buy/own Sony branded products for all their needs and wants. (basically to have people own a Sony TV with their Sony VCR, Sony Receiver, etc.) The strategy they use is what got them in trouble today. Sony over-reached like the USA is doing today. They wanted to be everywhere and intrusively did so in a manner that displeased people. Why the hell do I need to buy a Sony memory card to run their products? Why the hell do I have to use their music software to hear streaming music? People don't want to be told why products they should buy. It's a big no-no, and I'm glad Microsoft & Nintendo are here to knock some sense into Sony's Corporate heads that they are not gods; people will NOT gladly hand over their money to them and their Religion that is Sony. Fawk you Sony for trying to create a monopolies and failing in the process. Having said that, I still own a PS3 as my only console, because it still provided a Percent higher in my taste in gaming than what the other companies were offering.

Hope this helps.