I don't think that it'll be a failure one bit!!

Although it probably would be a failure for the other two. (Microsoft and Nintendo) Maybe not Nintendo so much because their console sales have been declining since the beginning. (NES - Wii) As of right now the Wii is the only console this generation that is actually considered to be a success unlike the 360 and PS3. Even at the beginning of the new generation of video games, Nintendo didn't even expect the sales the Wii is getting.

The ONLY reason the Wii will EVER be a FAILURE if it doesn't outsell the worldwide sales of the Nintendo Gamecube. And with only 3.5 million more sales to go, looks like Nintendo might accomplish that goal. Nintendo has been making a profit since the first Wii has been sold so that could consider the Wii successful.

Yes, the PS2 pretty much set the record for most consoles sold in a console generation and still going strong and quite frankly, even with the Wii out there outselling everything, won't beat that record nor will it be close to beating that record. But then again, it really doesn't need to since the was the PREVIOUS generation.

I just realized that I've been talking about the Wii all this time and I'm supposed to be talking about something else.

Oh yeah, the only way in my eyes, the PS3 could be considered a failure would be that if it's Blu-Ray component doesn't succeed. If Sony doesn't make any money off of the PS3 in terms of profit. MAYBE if the PS3 doesn't surpass its predecessor, the PS2.

maybe, but isnt the ps2 still selling better than the ps3??

Hey, look at it this way: Sony has proven that they can take a hit and recover (gracefully or not).  Nintendo has proven that they could get owned (for a long time, lol) and come back.  If PS3 does admirably for the rest of its life and demonstrates its resilience after that first year, Sony will have proven their mettle and their eagerness to compete for gamers.  Unfortunately Microsoft doesn't need to be resilient, with all that money, lol.

It failed to retain their hold on the market

I'd say if it doesn't hit 80% of PS2 it would be considered an initial failure.

If it hits over 40 million at this point i'd consider it a success.

That's the trick with expectations. They vary over time.

I suppose the initial expectations are the most imortant however. So I mostly agree.

I'd like to preface this by making it clear that all definitions of "failure" are subjective. (Aside from products like the Virtual Boy and Gizmondo, naturally.) What I'm writing here is my opinion, and should not be taken as a definitive statement of fact.

This won't please Sony fans, but I personally regard the PS3 as one of the biggest failures in gaming history. And even if it goes on to outsell the 360 sometime in 2009 or 2010, it won't change that one bit. Why? One word: expectations. It's impossible to define failure or success without mentioning the expectations associated with them. For example, the Gamecube is often considered a failure, while the XBox is usually referred to as a success. This despite the fact that the XBox outsold the Gamecube in very marginal terms (fewer than 2m units, which was less than 10%), while losing over $4 billion in the process. Yet there's some truth to these terms: Nintendo had 20 years of experience in the console gaming industry, while Microsoft was a newcomer with no prior history. Everyone expected Nintendo to do better than Microsoft, and factors into how we view their respective consoles.

What few people realize is just how dramatically the terms of debate have shifted over the past two years. If you were to tell gamers in Feb. 2006 that the PS3 would be struggling to catch the 360 in sales, and miles behind the Wii, they would have laughed at you and called you an idiot. Remember, EVERYONE expected the PS3 to crush all its competition this generation. They had the ultimate slam-dunk situation: all the brand-name recognition, 100% of the third-party support, and an unlimited amount of hype surrounding their product. Sony fans spent the whole year of 2006 laughing about how feeble the 360 was selling, and how when the PS3 arrived it would destroy all challengers. (Remember that?) But the more we found out about the PS3, the more we realized that Sony had made a lot of mistakes; first, the lengthy delays that gave the 360 its year-long headstart, then the $600 pricetag announced at E3 2006, then the sluggish launch largely lacking high-power software titles, followed by a year of delays of the major titles. Weren't the big games supposed to be out by now?

You can spin things all you like. But the fact remains, Sony seriously farked things up this time around. They should have won this generation in a walk. Instead, they remain in a distant third place, slowly making up tidbits of ground to the 360 each week. This wasn't the result of a natural disaster or something; Sony's design decisions directly resulted in the poor sales we've seen. I give them credit for rallying and recovering somewhat, but the PS3 never should have been in that position in the first place! Sony fans, would you ever in a million years have thought you would be in this situation two years ago? Or even one year ago?

Because the expectations for the PS3 were so high, that's exactly why the current situation should be considered a failure, IMO. If the Wii were sitting at 10m units sold to the PS3's 21m, everything would be just as we expected. Since it's the opposite... well, I think some criticism is justified.

I won't be called a failure at least from me.

If it gets a decent number sold, then it could still be a success, just not a runaway success like the PSOne and PS2.

no

Will it be a failure? Depends on how short it may fall. I'd say if it sells enough to warrant a PS4, then its not a failure. Considering XBox only sold 24 million, I'd say even if the PS3 only sells...say 30 million it would be a success. If it sells 50 million that would be very good. I think just cause the PS2 sold over 100 million, everyone assumes the PS3 will sell 100 million or more.

Will people call it a failure? yes