Looking thought the topic, here is why the PS3 is doing poor

1. Expectations-The system was expected to be the best selling console by now, yet it is the worst selling by a good margin. But the 360 wasn't expected to do that well. It has done better then expected (or at least how much I expected it to do).
2. Supply-People forget that the 360 was actually supply constricted. So while 360 could meet the demand, Sony had plenty to go around. That's not a good thing. Also, keep in mind the 360's first Christmas season where Sony wasn't.
3. Price Cuts-Perhaps the reason why PS3 is considered a failure is the price cuts. Where Microsoft could easy by without a thought of one,  Sony had to drop it's price $100 in the first year. Even whebn Microsoft cut it's price, it was only by $50.

To those people saying the PS3 was a success because  it sold about the same as the XBox with out any games and a high price thag, that's a load of crap. Success can be mesured in two ways

1. Systems sold
2. Profit

just because the ps3 has matched the xbox sale in its first year dosnt mean its doing well, considering the ps3 has 3 strong markets and the xbox only has 1 (north america), i think the ps3 has sold badly very badly considering its hugh brandname because of the succsess of the ps2

yeah i say strong because the ps2 sold so well in every region in the world so they have alot of sony fanboys to buy the new console, which hasnt happened so far

Sony was attempting to turn the 360 into the next Dreamcast, and chuck MS out of the console business.  It was exactly the same for Sony:

 -Rival console launched a year prior, with respectable-to-good sales

-However, the sales were not what they could have been, because everyone was thinking, "Forget this--the new Playstation system is going to kick this PoC's @$$!"

 -Sony, riding on the tidal wave of success that was their previous Playstation console, starts announcing specs and building hype.

-Instead of using the same disc format as the last generation, the PS3 would use a new format, a movie disc which holds several times the amount of data.

-Also, the new system would feature an amazing new graphics processor that would blow the current system away.

Whether that last point ended up being true is arguable in both cases, but here's the real difference:

When the Dreamcast launched at $399, everyone grumbled about the price to some degree, as previous generations had been cheaper.  At E3, Kutaragi, smiling widely, walked up to the mic and said, simply:

"$299."

Yes, despite the fact that it had a next-generation movie player built-in, the PS2 was $100 cheaper than the competition.

When the 360 launched at $399, everyone again grumbled at the price, but still bought it because it was still a good system.  Then Kutaragi approaches the mic, smiling not quite so widely this time, and, as the hour wore on, he announced that the next Playstation would be $599.

To be clear, though their last system was $100 cheaper than the competition, this time they would be $200 more expensive.

Despite what anyone says about "well... ah... um... but it's keeping up with the 360 DESPITE the higher price!" , They brought that on themselves.  You don't see anyone saying, "but the Dreamcast would have kicked ass if Sega had the money to keep going!"  To reference someone's picture in this thread, Sony, the reigning champ, has pretty much been pinned down to the mat, and now is the time for them to, wobbling and grabbing the ropes, stand back up and fight.

unsuprsingly, as I remember the 360 had bad first year sales, the question is whether it can do as well as the 360's second year which I doubt

I like the no competition excuse like the PS2 wasn't kicking ass and people were waiting to see what SONY and NINTENDO had to offer. Seriously the PS3 has underperformed period. Even SONY has admitted over and over again they haven't done as well as they expected so is time for the SONY fanboys to also admit it. How can you go from 100 Million plus one generation to being behind by 2x as much the following generation. Keep comparing all you want but bottom line is nintendo and MS are sitting pretty ahead by 2x as much and making money while SONY plays catch trying to hopefully make money a year or 2 from now.

I think that's what you meant to say (correct me if I'm wrong?)

And agreed.

 Thanks I fixed it.  People where waiting to see what SONY and NINTENDO had to offer.  Remember all the analysis where saying how SONY was just going to dominate as soon as it was launched.  

The expectations of the PS3 were so much greater than the expectations of the 360 in that the PS3 was to dominate the console market period, no question, end of story, and it hasn't so there is the built in disappointment. The 360 didn't have the Wii stealing its thunder either. Every time you turn around there is some feel good story about how the Wii rescued a puppy in a well. There are factors going against the PS3 that are of Sonys own making. Sony underestimated the importance of that year head start Microsoft had. Where you are really going to see this hurt Sony is when the next Microsoft system comes out and they are still trying to get PS3 to fly. Bottom line is, for the PS3 to be doing anything but wiping the floors with every living thing on the planet, it is going to be percieved as a failer. Heck, people have already called it a failer and the thing is barely a year old.