How to botch a new console release
It was year 2006. Playstation 2 was on its 5th year and still going strong. Microsoft released the first Xbox back in 2001 and was good, but unable to topple the might Playstation. The Gamecube is also running out of steam and in dire need of a new console. A new console needs to be released by the “Big 3” (sorry Sega). And it was the perfect time to do so.
I could argue that it might be the Xbox 360 that made Sony to release a new one, but thats for another story. Blu-Ray disc was the latest media being introduced by Sony. It was to have 10x the storage of the DVD so content is much bigger and it will have a faster read state. Its inevitable that Blu-Ray disc is the new trend and developers welcomed the idea of a bigger capacity media for their games.
Believe it or not, development of the PS3 started around 2001. PS2 is just 2 years old. They were impressed with the original Xbox prowess; Xbox has a better graphical power, computing power and it can do more. Not to mention the Xbox Live introduction. Online play is not exclusive anymore for PC gamers. With the speed of the internet going faster, the Xbox had an ethernet port, not a dial up modem. It seems that Xbox is a step ahead when it comes to innovation. It was just lacking the marketing power of Sony. Not that Microsoft is not a marketing power house, but its their first dip to the console market. Sony has to make a move. And it has to be a much better console than Microsoft.
Fast forward to E3 2005. Sony revealed their next generation console. Gamers were excited since it was introducing technologies that would rival PC gaming. And the new blu-ray disc means more power and content to games. I think everyone was planning to camp to game stores once the release is announced. I was excited as well since I was a big Sony fan back then.
Then E3 2006 came:
Aside from the meme generating “hit weak spot for massive damage”, it was the price that sucked the air out of the room. Its like the whole room gasped in unison when the price is announced. $599! $499 for the 20 GB model. Xbox 360 was less than that, and Microsoft was so smug, Peter Moore (Ex Sega President) said that for that price you can buy a 360 and a Wii; which was correct. Here in the Philippines, it cost 60000 pesos. And an Xbox is around 20000 pesos.
I kept mentioning the blu-ray disc in this article and that is because its the reason why the cost was that expensive. Blu-ray drives is relatively new and technology dictates if its new, its pricey. Also, other game manufacturers had a harder time creating games, but not that hard, compared to Xbox since Sony is using a different chip set and GPU. All in all, it was not a shining moment for Sony. Although it sold around 80 million units, it was because they lowered the price and created different version for cost cutting.
Sony learned its lesson with the PS4 (Hi Microsoft!) with its release. Sony claimed its throne as the king of the console today. But there was a moment of its reign that they almost crumbled and fell to the enemy.
Late Game Bloomer 
