The PS3 is certainly ending 2007 alot better than it began it, but I don't see it as being the juggernaught that Jack wants it to be. The PS3 does not have the graphic hardware to produce any better looking games than the 360. The PS3 was supposed to initially launch 5 years after the PS2, don't expect the PS4 will be announced to release any later than that. The same with the next Xbox. With consoles today using upscaling to try and get around the fact that they just can't run today's games at the native HD resolutions and still have them look decent, the new console cycle is not going to lengthen. Maybe they think they will be selling PS3s for 10 years, but that will only be if people still want to purchase them 5 years after the PS4 comes out.
Microsoft made one slipup that almost ruined Microsoft's reputation in video game consoles but they did seem to recover from it pretty successfully. Microsoft's only ongoing weakness is their 1st party development stable which is real lean. Sony has much more invested in theirs and has made some smart acquisitions.
Personally, the hardware failures excepted, I find the features and usability of the 360 to be much more polished than the PS3. The PS3 interface is the same as what was used on the PSP. It worked well on the PSP, but the more options you add to it, the more clunky it becomes. Also, the lack of ingame access to any part of the XMB interface is a significant deficiency. Sony very hastily reworked the PS2 controller to become wireless and have motion controls after their 1st design (the boomarang device) was so heavily criticized when they first showed it. I liked the DualShock analogs when they were new but Nintendo showed a much better design for them on the Game Cube and then Microsoft took much of the same newer concepts and incorporated it into their controllers. The offset analogs just seem to feel better for most games. The only part of the DualShock design that works just fine is the D-Pad, which is not great on the 360.
Jack is quick to say that Sony's online system is free, but Sony really doesn't offer anything that it could even think of charging for. As it is, with the video games division of Sony still hemoraging cash, I am curious how hard running free servers for things like Home is going to hit them when their game software sales are still lackluster with even highly rated titles like Heavenly Sword and Uncharted pulling much lower sales numbers than expected.
It is humorous to listen to Jack talk now because he used to be one of the Baghdad Bob Sony execs who claimed everything was fine and the 360 was just trash.
The PS3 isn't going to fail, but it isn't going to take over this generation. The Wii will stay on top, the 360 in second, and the PS3 will end up 3rd, but not in the toilet. The PS3 was a misassessment by Sony of what the market would accept and how loyal their existing customers were. If you look at all the hardware revisions and new SKUs coming from Sony in 2007, they were in serious damage control mode. Their marketing department had to be reigned in, they had to hit a lower price point (even if they had to remove features across the board), and eat tremendous amounts of crow. Even though I think the PS4 team will show a little more respect for the customer (and also not come out at $600), I don't think you'll see Sony crush everyone else again like they did with the PS2.
