- It's lost them over $6 billion

-It's wiped out all the profits they made on PS1 and PS2

- It's reduced Sony from 70% of the console market to 23%

- It's taken them from 1st by a mile in the console race to 3rd

-It's greatly damaged the brand power of the "Playstation" name

Granted, it's lifespan's not over yet, and with good management it might still partly repair these losses now that it's allegedly breaking even, but I don't see how it can ever completely recoup them.

I think it depends on who you ask. I'll do a table for varying people:

SCE: Absolutely not. The dominance of the PS1/2 days is gone, the system generated over $6 billion in losses, and they're still trying (though now with more success) to get back their relevancy.

BR Consortium: Yes, definitely. The PS3 was the push that BR needed to kill off HD-DVD. And now they can reep the royalties for their format.

Sony shareholders: No. Even with BR winning the format war, they are not going to see a return on this huge investment.

Microsoft: Partially. It's forced them to upgrade their system, XBL, and a bunch of other things. While some things would have come eventually, it was Sony who forced things to keep moving, especially to try to show 360 customers that XBL still has a value.

Nintendo: No. It's nowhere near in sales, and Nintendo has even said that they do not see it as competition. Nintendo has made no change in response to the PS3.

Gamers: Mixed. Some love it, thinking it's the best thing in a long time. Others don't really care, seeing it with indifference.

Average Joe: No. Why do I want to game? (It's not contributed to changing the public view of gaming being for old overweight nerds living in their parents' basement.)

-When the gen started the Playstation Name had nowhere to go but down, and it went way down.

- It remained way down until very recently, from which it has rebounded wonderfully.

So, in the long term it has been a utter failure (tho them not entering this gen would have been even worse).

In the short term (since release) it has been very successful. Unfortunately, the recent successes in no way, shape or form, make up for the utter disaster at the start of the gen. Even tho it has been a failure, the failure is not complete (that would be not entering next Gen, which I have no doubt Sony will do)

Its been a huge financial failure for Sony. I'm sure many shareholders are pissed about it.

That's not intirely accurate, nintendo have recently released a new revised game controller, and this is there second attempt at it.  Clearly this conventional game controller is aimed at the "hardcore" market of the ps3 & x360. I think nintendo looks at ms and sony alittle more than they let on, i mean any good company would, they are fighting in the same segment.

I covered that. In their financial reports they haven't seen much if any profit from Blu Ray fabrication etc and they control something like 90% of it.

I think that Sony is back on the right track since they released the slim its not THAT far behind 2nd place WORLD WIDE SALES WISE.

Sony as far as games has been a huge success from the uncharted to heavy rain to god of war's

I still believe they can take over the no.2 WW.

I am really curious to see there earning report on Thursday

you be surprised of how many way cheaper blu ray players are out there :)

IMO, awesome exclusives games are lifting PS3 slowly up there.

i know there are cheaper players out there. im saying that the ps3 helped them secure blu ray early. Since sony is one of the companies that funded blu ray ithey will get royalties from it.

I know. Thats what I said in my post. Perhaps I am not articulating it correctly. So here is a table.

There are 2 points that you brushed up: lack of profit, and lack of 1st party support.