I think its a good thing sony is in 3rd because they'll have to work that much harder to get back on top which means consumers benefit from it, price cuts, better games, more features etc. Sony came into this gen thinking they were invincible. they thought their name alone would carry them to victory but it backfired. Sony isn't going anywhere they're not suffering all. the best thing they can do is learn from their mistakes and keep going. This gen if far from over anything can happen 8 years from now, only time will tell.

A combination of casual, kiddie, and hard core gave the PS2 the win last gen.

The PS3 mostly ignored the casual and kiddie fans, and lost the hard core fans to the 360.

Wow. 8 years from now? You mean PS4? How can Sony make Playstation Brand relevant to all faster than PS4?

Even if they take the bronze (3rd of 3), there has to be a way to make the PS3 an everyone console eventually, before 8 years. And $299 isn't the entire solution, because M$ will go $150 Arcade when that happens.

$299 is but one brick of rebuilding an empire, but what else can they do to make PS3/Playstation brand mass appeal again. If anyone says AAA games I'm gonna scream. The hardcore AAA games are NOT helping at this point (R2), how can it be relevant to casuals, adults (Blu-Ray?) and parents?   

Not everyone wants all that crap, some will and thats fine, bu the mass majority wanted a game system not a "media hub".  Its like some cellphone companies making their phones do everything except actually make calls, except in this case I can;t get a free PS3 with a cellphone plan.

The 360 has been on the rise lately since it's the HD console of choice at a price that people want.

I think that people that believe that a $299 price for the PS3 will change things around are just delusional. Robert is completly right on this point. The fact is, everytime Sony does something good for the console, ex (price cut), the 360 is already 2 steps ahead. Sony better get comfy in 3d place. At this point the BR isn't even moving consoles anymore because the PS3 isn't the cheapest BR player on the market.

I agree, I don't get this $299 obsession. Honestly, do people think that Sony can win a price war with Microsoft? Yeah, sounds like a great idea, Sony laying off 16,000 people has no relevance here.

Really, when it comes to throwing money around, it's M$' turf.

some people forget how fast things can change, back in the ps2 days, did people thing the wii would even outsell the ps3 for 1 week? did anyone last year think final fantasy was going to be on xbox? last year did people think the ps3 would outsell the 360 in america for over half the year in 2008? did anyone ever think the 360 could sell over 5k in japan for over 4 weeks? right now do people think the ps3 can outsell the 360 ever again in america? right now people are thinking no just like to all the other things i mentioned. this is just the beginning and microsoft have a,ong way to go to beat sony, nintendo have already done it but do microsoft have what it takes to go all the way? im not talking just outselling it for 2 months, how about a whole year? it needs to do that to stand a chance, especially now thats it at the "sweet" price.

also you ask how did ps3 get into last place yet some of you fail to mention the 360 came out 12 months earlier all on its own and over 15 months earlier in europe! do you really expect the ps3 to pass the 360 in just 2 years? even the ps2 wouldnt have done that.  theres just too mnay inconsistencies. if you want to compare sales then atleast compare them in the same time frame but i guess people that like the 360 dont want to because they know that the 360 is far behind the ps3 in the same time frame and thats the truth! so people stop with all the shit and please just enjoy your games. also some of you, give sony a damn break man! im sure most of you had ps2's. well sony made that so give them some credit. you know how different the games industry would be if it wasnt for sony and playstation.

The PS3 Story (So Far)

1. They started off selling a $900 product for $600 dollars.
2. Due to number one they did not market the system to sell extreamly well, do to obvious reasons.
3. A competitor came out strong with a much smarter buisness model, and a catchy gimic.
4. Thanks to a stupid idea of selling the console at a nearly $300 dollar loss per unit, combine with low sales numbers Sony started to freak out. Developers were not happy, and the threat of loosing third party support looked very possible.
5. Sony fumbles the ball even more, removing b/c to lower the price of the unit while removing massive value, and foricing viablity on the PS2 to help counter major losses.
6. With the price cut getting idoits on board, and Sony loosing less money things started getting better. Sony regained trust in third parties, and they won the HD video war. However, the losses per unit sold was still effecting the profit, therefore, Sony continued to let the system sit on the market with no advertising.
7. Some big franchises help the system gain some appeal, and Sony adds much needed features that add even more value to the system. For one week it tops the almighty Wii, and things are starting to move uphill.
8. With their lead slipping Microsoft makes a move to bring their system into the mainstream making it possible to buy 2 360's for the price of a PS3.
9. Sony enters the holiday season still in a tough spot finacilally, and to make matters worse the world is in the biggest economic meltdown it has ever seen. This leads to a sustained price point, and a failure to properly market their major in house efforts.

Sony made a lot of stupid moves with this system, and to make matters worse the competition made very smart move, and the economy completly bombed. Many are stating the PS3 is done for, but that is just pure blindness. If the last few months have proved anything, it is that entertainment does not get effected buy a bad economy. Things have been getting better and better for the PS3 over the past 2 years, and 09 will fianlly see the system become viable from a buisness stance.

With the PS3 reaching the point in which Sony can make money off it next year a lot of things are going to change. The marketing team will finally start to change the way consumers look at the system, and really try to sell some units. Gaming changing services will make thier way to the platform. Home, The Store, Online gameing functions, PSP to PS3 communication will all play major roles in the way PS3 is precived in the coming year.

Sony may have lost a good deal of marketshare, and making it back this generation is nearly imposible. Luckly the mistakes have been fixed and lessons learned. The SCE division is now stable, and the game is back on. Playstation may not be back on top during this generation, but thanks to a few of the stumbles that messed up the early years of PSP, and PS3 the foundation for the next gen has been built mighty strong. Expect a very competitive Sony for the rest of this generation, and the even more so come PSP 2 and PS4.

Sony was beaten by a better concurrent, simple as that.