Written by John Scalzo  on January 16, 2009

Editorial Response: A special edition of our "Making the Case" editorial series.

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A few days ago, I wrote an editorial titled Further Proof the PS3 is Done. Since then, I've been called out in the forums of Game Trailers, the comments section of a popular news aggregator and in a response editorial that refers to me as a child more than once. Well, fans and fanboys alike, listen up.

It's not about you so please stop with your cries of my "biased" article.

Further Proof the PS3 is Done was an editorial, by definition my opinion, and was not meant to be a grand sweeping condemnation of the PlayStation 3 platform. What it was supposed to be was a critical look at the business side of the game industry and how Sony is absolutely blowing it. It was never about the quality of the games, the system or of the people who play it. But if I may, I'd like to explain why I wrote what I wrote.

I applaud Sony for managing to sell 1.3 million copies of LittleBigPlanet worldwide since the game launched in November. I truly am. Revolutionary concepts like LittleBigPlanet should be encouraged on whatever system they may appear. But the fact remains that LittleBigPlanet was touted as the PS3's "killer app." The game that was supposed to thrust it into the limelight and dethrone the green juggernaut. But that didn't happen. 1.3 million copies is a pittance for a game that was pushed as a system seller. Nintendo sells 1.3 million copies worldwide of Wii Fit, Wii Play and Mario Kart Wii every time Shigeru Miyamoto sneezes.



Secondly, the editorial focused so heavily on sales numbers because that was the point. The entire article was written to discuss the sales disparity between PS3 and Xbox 360 software. Sony is getting hammered on two fronts. The Xbox 360 has taken away many of the hardcore gamers, the group that made up Sony's biggest supporters in the PS2 days. Worldwide, the Xbox 360 outsells the PS3 at a ratio of about 1.4-to-1. Yet, the Xbox 360 version of a multiplatform game like Call of Duty: World at War outsells the PS3 version at a ratio of almost 3-to-1. At the same time, the Wii is snatching away the children. When little Billy or little Susie wants the latest SpongeBob game, they get it for their Wii nowadays. A few years ago, that would have been recorded as a Sony sale.

Thirdly, arguing about game quality is pointless. As we've already established, the PS3 has a fantastic slate of quality titles. As does the Xbox 360. And neither system has a "better" overall lineup of games, because arguing about such a thing is ridiculous. I prefer the games that are offered on the Xbox 360 (I'll give a second for some of you to spit), someone else might prefer the PS3. But system preference is a non-starter in an editorial discussing sales figures and possible future sales. And as I showed with LittleBigPlanet and Metal Gear Solid 4, these killer apps were not able to upset the balance in the console war. I don't believe God of War III and Killzone 2 will be able to change the status quo either.

Finally, I was taken to task for not giving Blu-ray it's due. And the naysayers were right; this was an oversight on my part when discussing the sales future of the PlayStation 3. For the moment, we'll ignore that talking about Blu-ray was just another shot at my "stupidity" and not a genuine financial question, but anyway...

Blu-ray is a huge deal for the PS3, this is true and it was wrong of me to ignore it. But (and this is a big but), now that HD-DVD is dead and buried, the price of Blu-ray players has only fallen more rapidly. At $400, the PS3 is well out of range of even the cheapest Blu-ray players (which can sell for $200 or lower). Videophiles looking for the next step up in their movie watching have a myriad of cheaper options out there. The PS3 isn't even on their radar. This is great news for PS3 owners, who get a Blu-ray, in essence, for free. But it has little effect on the system's sales anymore. Unlike the PS2, which at a launch price of $300, was well within the "pricing sweet spot" for both videophiles and gamers.

One last thing before I go. The December 2008 NPD numbers were released on January 15 and they continue to paint a grim picture for the PS3.

The only PS3 game to break the top ten was Call of Duty: World at War. But once again, it was outsold by the Xbox 360 version by a rate of almost 3-to-1. And on the console sales front, for the fifth straight month, it was outsold by all four current generation platforms. The Xbox 360's one year head start is becoming insurmountable and the Wii's appeal to casual (the PS2's bread and butter) will keep it firmly in the number one stop.

The PlayStation 3 has become the GameCube of this generation. There's no shame in that, the GameCube had a gaggle of great titles, but it was still the third place system. Just as the PS3 is and will always be.