PS3 responsible for childhood obesity confirmed! There is your missing link in the study!

Xbox would charge more for the internet.  And there would be a lot fewer good games, seeing as Sony's are amongst the best this gen.

Also, if PS2 failed, Microsoft wouldn't be in videogames.

I don't know about that one. I think if PS1 failed then MS wouldn't be in video games, but the gap between the release of PS2 and Xbox is only a year, unless the first Xbox was designed in a year I don't think that was the case, but I don't see how that sentence contributes to the topic :S

Honestly, I don't think that there would have been a huge difference - not that the PS3 hasn't done well this gen, but it hasn't really influenced the way that games are played.

Exactly where gaming is now...

Not saying the PS3 failed but it didn't really accomplish anything game changing or huge.

360 would have more exclusives... that's about it.

The very few POSSIBLE influential things really won't be judgeable until next generation.  To see if there are more games like LBP and Heavy Rain produced by other studios.

Even then, there still would of been a PS4, and still likely versions of those games for the PS4.   So adoption of those games are basially the only thing I can think of.

I just felt like some were belittling the company's contributuon to videogames, which is silly at this point.  Admittedly, it was off point a bit.  But PS1 or PS2, the point remains the same.  And I think the two top points are vaild, if I think of more I'll add later lol.

Well to be fair, PS3 was released last this generation, so to say the least, nothing else would have happened if it didn't release :p. Changing hardware will affect how the older games will be played and the people who brought the consoles from start would get shafted, the only major contribution is BluRay but that's as a whole and not gaming as it does not apply to Wii and 360.
Not undermining PS3 as I would like to have one when funds do permit me to get one, but without it the only factor that would change is the lack of competition on the market and lack of diversity that the PS3 library offers. Seeing as PS3 was released last, if it does have any impact on the videogame industry we will see it next gen, maybe MS's answer to BluRay or something like that. Quite frankly BluRay just rapes normal DVD in the face.

P.S To those citing the console revisions, those have been around for a while now.

Well I think everything would be about the same except the 360 would have sold more and there wouldn't have been as many awesome games (talking about PS3 exclusives)

If PS3 had failed you can say bye bye to loads of 3rd party games on Xbox 360...loads more 3rd parties would be on Wii then. (unless each lost PS3 owner would be a xbox 360 owner...but its never that simple...not in EMEAA or Japan). At the least you would see almost every major Japanese 3rd party title moving to Wii.

HD DVD would win.

Wii would have over a 50% marketshare. (again unless every lost PS3 owner become a xbox 360 owner but its never really that simple)

In Japan and EU PS3 has been a big competition to the Wii in the past year.

I consider PS3 and Xbox 360's sales to be a major reason for their amazing third party support, without one I think the other wouldn't have as many great games. Its cool to think of it like that too!

Regardless of the definition of "hardcore" the games on both X360 and PS3 are fairly similar. If the PS3 couldnt attract customers then it would make sense that neither would the X360.