Because most of the 360's fans want big budget hd games with graphics comparable to those in the best PC games at the time of its launch.  They want to be able to talk about how amazing and hardcore the next Gears etc are and how much the graphics in those games blow away the graphics in this gen's consoles and rival those in the best  computer games when it is launched, and to be able to deliver a system like that, then Microsoft will have to deliver a costly console that is at least 3 times more powerful than the current 360 just as the 360 and its three processors are  that much superior to the the first xbox and its 733mhz clockspeed.

    Now, it is true that like Nintendo they could choose to put out a rather inexpensive console next time that mainly caters to the casual market and that alienates their longest term hardcore fans (and some of the stuff they showed off at last year's E3 certainly looked liked that was a path they were considering embarking upon); however, that would mean that the PS3 would become the only console for hardcore gamers at that time and Sony could milk that for all it was worth until bringing out the PS4 in 2015.

I propose a new HTML Error, it will need to be a 4xx number as it is clearly a client error, so how about
499 : Too Much Stupid

Can someone give me an example of a 10 year plan that has actually worked? It's not gonna work for a host of reasons. The PS3 is already waaaay behind the Wii and has a lot of catching up to do with the 360. It hasn't proven without a shadow of a doubt that it is the most powerful console. There is ample evidence to support this. Sony could try and play the 10 year game at it's peril but if Microsoft release a new console with download compatibility with older console games like it does now in 3-4 years time, the PS3 will look relatively backwards. The casual market belongs to the Wii this gen. In fact the 360 has a better chance than the PS3 at winning over the casuals with the sort of games it's pushing at the moment.

Americans prefer Gears to LBP. The Japanese don't care about the PS3. Europeans are kinda split. Sony doesn't dominate anywhere. They will never catch up with the Wii and if they do catch up with the 360, by then it will be too late.

8 years left boys....

PS3 fanboys sure are having a hard time accepting the fact that the PS3 has lost this generation

PS3 fanboys sure are having a hard time accepting the fact that the PS3 has lost this generation

NES, SNES, PS1, PS2 all have a 10 year lifespan. Wii will also have a 10 year lifespan. PS3 could also have a 10 year lifespan if they change strategy.

I really don't understand how some people can think that PS3 can have a comeback. The gaming industry right now is undergoing a paradigm shift. What was once important will not matter much anymore. What was once neglected will be of primary focus.

The Wii and PS3 (and Xbox 360) have opposite values. One values pick-up and play, social (local multiplayer) and motion controlled gaming. The other values epic, cinematic, hyper-realistic gaming. The sales are showing which values are important to gamers (all people who bought or planning to buy a console, not just the "hardcore" gamers.)

Unless the PS3 embraces these values, it will not succeed. It will not last 10 years.

      That is because they haven't lost this gen yet.  And while the Wii faithful only have Wii blah type games to play in 2009 and some rather average survival horror games like Cold Mountain and Fatal Frame 4 (no Fatal Frame game scored above an 8.5 on PS2), to tide them over until the the next Mario and Zelda games come out in 2010, the PS3 will be steadily cutting into the Wii's lead with quality games.  The Wii is going to be lucky to reach 75 million consoles sold by the time it is replaced by the Wii HD while the PS3 will be up to 50 million and going strong.  Also, it will be cheaper and still more technologically advanced than the Wii HD will be when it is released. 

You have to be a joke account, I haven't seen comedy like this since the old Black Adder days

This is the answer to this thread, it is so true.