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[Stumpokapow]

As far as I know till recently a shit ton of people jumped in and bought a PS2... how do you explain that? did they wait for a (insert price here) to get a (insert GREAT game system) so they can enjoy (insert list of exclusive games here)??? No?

Do you know a shit ton of people jumping in and buying GameCubes or Xboxes?

By the way, "I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom, and by how soon he buys a PS3". You're not fooling anyone.

 

[Arpharmd B]

PS3 is winning many territories in PAL except England. If you look at software numbers for Germany and Spain, there are an awful lot of PS3 titles at the top. Throw in Japan... Throw in Korea... I promise it is closer than you think.

To declare "Wrong" is ill informed.

I heard these exact arguments last year. I even believed it back then. People had me believing that worldwide, PS3 actually squeezed one out over 360 despite the United States beating it took.

However, I was completely wrong then and you are completely wrong now. The sales gap Last Year, was 5-6 million units. It is now 7-8 million units. And that is with PS3's 40% increase YOY.

Europe, I think for a while PS3 sold better in Europe hence why they caught up to MS 1.5 year head start, and then the pricedrops swung things in MS favor to where they are outselling again. So as of right now Europe is pretty much a 1:1 wash for the most part.

That leaves Japan vs. USA. To put that war into perspective, YTD PS3 has a 600k lead over 360. That was washed away and then some in one month NPD here.

So that is the reality of things. The way it's been for 2 years of comp MS has gained 1-2 million over PS3 each year. If Sony wants 2nd Place, they have to FIRST start matching MS, then eventually outselling them consistently on a worldwide basis just to catch up.

They would have to completely reverse the current situation. And if they miraculously did that (not likely), it would still take 4 years just to make up the deficit! And that's outselling Microsoft 2 million a year worldwide! It's just not going to happen.

 

[Balb]

Do you know a shit ton of people jumping in and buying GameCubes or Xboxes?

How could they if Nintendo and Microsoft don't produce them?

 

[Bulla564]

By any chance, are you the guy from Gamefaqs who said you were 12 (below GFAQs' 13 requirement) and got banned in an absolutely hilarious fashion?

Nope. Missed that one I guess.

 

[RSTEIN]

Who is this Bulla564 guy? I like him. It's like 2007 all over again.

 

[DevelopmentArrested]

It IS about the quality of the line-up, and in the PS3's case, since there is no Wii Sports or Gears, it's about the entire line-up. In quality and blockbusters, my money is on the PS3 for this year, as for announced games so far. The overall line-up has kept this $400 console afloat, and will continue to improve its sales.

Uhh this thread is about sales and last time I checked, Nintendo had 20 out of 30 of the top selling games which means people aren't buying a Wii just to play Wii sports. Try again though. Also.. 360's big exclusive sold much better than PS3's.

 

[Branduil]

Do you know a shit ton of people jumping in and buying GameCubes or Xboxes?

By the way, "I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom, and by how soon he buys a PS3". You're not fooling anyone.

My argument is that Gamecube's perception of value will increase even more throughout 2004. Unless there is a proportionate price cut for the PS2 and Xbox, the line-up of the Gamecube will continue to look better than the competition, and a lower price-point will help it also.

 

[Bulla564]

Do you know a shit ton of people jumping in and buying GameCubes or Xboxes?

By the 5th year, the PS3 will be comparable to the PS2 in terms of line-up. It will have a long-term appeal, UNLIKE the GC and Xbox.

By the way, "I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom, and by how soon he buys a PS3". You're not fooling anyone.

I'm not trying to fool anybody. I'm a biased PS3/PC gamer, and I haven't felt the need to touch my X360 since Mass Effect (didn't want to wait for the PC version of THAT).

My argument is that Gamecube's perception of value will increase even more throughout 2004. Unless there is a proportionate price cut for the PS2 and Xbox, the line-up of the Gamecube will continue to look better than the competition, and a lower price-point will help it also.

This would work, except nobody would believe that the next Mario or Pokemon game will put the line-up above the competition.

 

[mm04]

Dare I ask... What lineup?? there is a hyped sequel to a disappointing PS2 FPS, and sequels to genres the PS3 is flooded with right now.

Or are people really expecting that FF XIII, GoW 3, FF XIII vs (I don't think this will do well in the US...) and GT5 (now, this is a real system seller, sadly the game will come out too late) to get 2009 releases??

I mean, of those games, the only one I see moving consoles is GT5 and the creator nearly confirmed that it won't see a 2009 release in one of his interviews...


.

Don't you know? For people buying these consoles in the future, only games that are coming out in the future count towards the console's library. Nothing prior matters. At least that's what I learned on GAF. I mean, 400k+ bought PS2s last month for that awesome upcoming 2009 lineup. Can't wait for those announcements!

 

[DevelopmentArrested]

By the 5th year, the PS3 will be comparable to the PS2 in terms of line-up. It will have a long-term appeal, UNLIKE the GC and Xbox.

Guys.. guys. PS3. It's a long-term investment. Like a house. You'll still be playing it 15 years from now.

 

[Grecco]

It's the Sony fanboy equivalent of the bubonic plague.

Spreading through GAF.


Infecting us all.

Sony has dropped the ball on KZ. Like terribly.

 

[Xisiqomelir]

DS. System of the generation, handheld of the forever! BOOYAH

Very YES.

 

[Lebron]

By the 5th year, the PS3 will be comparable to the PS2 in terms of line-up. It will have a long-term appeal, UNLIKE the GC and Xbox.

 

[schuelma]

That said the console is still performing well on a global scale and still expanding its market on a year to year scale, unlike the 360.

What? We don't have hard Europe numbers, but I haven't seen much evidence to suggest PS3 did any better than 360.

And in Japan, PS3 sales went down from 2007. I'll repeat- went down.

 

[Branduil]

By the 5th year, the PS3 will be comparable to the PS2 in terms of line-up. It will have a long-term appeal, UNLIKE the GC and Xbox.

 

[Pureauthor]

It IS about the quality of the line-up, and in the PS3's case, since there is no Wii Sports or Gears, it's about the entire line-up. In quality and blockbusters, my money is on the PS3 for this year, as for announced games so far. The overall line-up has kept this $400 console afloat, and will continue to improve its sales.

No, it's not. It's about how much the lineup appeals to the consumer, and how much they are willing to pay for it. And quality is not necessarily correlated to that in any way.

Which means despite the price, people are not all flocking to the Wii/X360. Thanks for providing the actual number for PS3's growth YoY.

Not any more than 'all' flocked to the PS2. A net gain in absolute sales figures is in and of itself nothing to be proud of - the only other possibility is that it sells 0 units, after all.

As far as I know till recently a shit ton of people jumped in and bought a PS2... how do you explain that? did they wait for a (insert price here) to get a (insert GREAT game system) so they can enjoy (insert list of exclusive games here)??? No?

You forgot the 'losing' part in your post. The PS2 was winning, riding a groundswell of popularity and perception as THE console to own that generation. The PS3 does not have any of that. It is largely derided as an inferior cousin to the X360 since the majority of games that people want for the system(s) are multiplatform.

By all means, if you have a good reference point of how much the "best blu-ray player" should be selling at this point in the format's lifetime, indulge us. Until then, your snarky mockery over 800k comes off as idiotic.

I don't care for how well the Blu-Ray players are 'supposed' to sell. The point is that being 'the best selling Blu-Ray player' is an utterly meaningless statistic when the Blu-Ray player portion obviously isn't helping the PS3 out of its pit.

You mean a dwindling negative perception (completely related to price vs the competition), a reliable source of income for 3rd parties, and a better outlook for 2009... sorry kido... we are not in 2006.

Right, back in 2006 Sony still had a chance to salvage the mess slightly.

If the negative perception is based on price vs competition, then both Nintendo and MS have very easy ways to reinforce the negative perception, and are in fact in a better position to do so than Sony is to alleviate its position.

In what way is the PS3 any more 'reliable' than the X360? The X360 was the one posting record-breaking software sales, in case you've forgotten, nevermind that for the entirety of the PS3's life the software sales has been living in the shadow of the Wii's. The best you can hope for are multiplatform titles again, which gives the consumer no reason to choose the PS3 over the X360.

Lastly, simply stating that there is a 'better outlook' proves nothing. You need evidence. And not generalities like 'a better lineup'. Games, specific reasons why they will appeal to the mass market and sell well enough to drive hardware sales, when one can expect a PS3 pricecut, how they can even afford to pricecut... that sort of thing.

 

[Segata Sanshiro]

There were lots of great games on last-place systems in previous gens, too. That you somehow think this situation is a new thing only shows how far up Sony's ass your head is located, Bulla.

 

[gofreak]

Oh gosh, so "wait for Killzone 2" is the new rallying cry?

:lol I think 'wait for pricedrop' might be more worthwhile.

Yup... it's far worse.

How so? I mean..for the consumers/owners?

The only negative similarity I can see between, say, PS3 and GC or PS3 and Saturn..is their relative market position. Which in this case doesn't really mean much as far as the consumer's experience goes (i.e. access to content/publisher support, which traditionally scaled inversely with relative market position).

There were lots of great games on last-place systems in previous gens, too. That you somehow think this situation is a new thing only shows how far up Sony's ass your head is located, Bulla.

They didn't have competitive publisher support.

The publishing landscape, and the overall situation has changed enough that the "3rd placer" can still enjoy strong and competitive publisher support.

That's new.

 

[manueldelalas]

Don't you know? For people buying these consoles in the future, only games that are coming out in the future count towards the console's library. Nothing prior matters. At least that's what I learned on GAF. I mean, 400k+ bought PS2s last month for that awesome upcoming 2009 lineup. Can't wait for those announcements!

Yes but 2007 and 2008 games aren't selling anymore, it's not like those games have legs.

Look at MGS4, that game should be perfect for late adopters of the console, but the game having a good start is just not selling anymore. It didn't even have legs to crawl to the top ten best selling games of the year.

I mean, right now, the PS3 line-up certainly does not look better than the competition; the Xbox 360 has arguably the better games on all fronts. And one game in the future will not change that.

 

[SilverLunar]

Mario Kart DS? a three years old game? Really??




















Wow, just ..... wow.

 

[radioheadrule83]

There were lots of great games on last-place systems in previous gens, too. That you somehow think this situation is a new thing only shows how far up Sony's ass your head is located, Bulla.

Some of the very best, in fact.

Co-signed!

 

[Christine]

By the 5th year, the PS3 will be comparable to the PS2 in terms of line-up.

This is straight up candyfloss and moonbeams. You haven't just let go of reality, you've let it drift completely out of your sight.

 

[pestul]

I still don't think the PS3 feature-set is going to play a role in 2009. This year we'll see cheap Blu-Ray players and cheap atom pc hybrids for the HTPC junkies (Nvidia Ion eg.). The games are there I do agree, but this thing needs to come down to $299 ASAP even if it takes bleeding out the war chest.

 

[Branduil]

The PS3 failing is actually a good thing for consumers in the long run. It means we'll never have another $600 console. Or at least, not for a long time.

That really was the death knell for the system right there.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

Congratulations on beating PS2's monthly record yet again, Wii!

System: Average weeks ownership (Average purchase date)

Wii: 43.5 (March 5, 2008)
PS3: 49.5 (January 23, 2008)
X360: 71.1 (August 25, 2007)

Here are what I believe are the top NPD years any systems have had.

 

[AstroLad]

Mario Kart DS? a three years old game? Really??

Wow, just ..... wow.

Already discussed earlier--it's basically due to manufactured shortages (same thing we saw with MK Wii).

 

[Stumpokapow]

How so? I mean..for the consumers/owners?

The only negative similarity I can see between, say, PS3 and GC or PS3 and Saturn..is their relative market position. Which in this case doesn't really mean much as far as the consumer's experience goes (i.e. access to content/publisher support, which traditionally scaled inversely with relative market position).

yes he is referring to the business outlook which is what this thread should have been about before it was derailed in some sort of bizarre PTSD episode by Bulla.

 

[Christine]

Congratulations on beating PS2's monthly record yet again, Wii!

I thought PS2's best month was a 2.4 million Dec, though.

2.7 million, in December 2002.

Yeah, this.

 

[Pureauthor]

Already discussed earlier--it's basically due to manufactured shortages (same thing we saw with MK Wii).

Manufactured shortages?

Eat HERESY!

 

[TJ Spyke]

I thought PS2's best month was a 2.4 million Dec, though.

2.7 million, in December 2002.

 

[gofreak]

yes he is referring to the business outlook which is what this thread should have been about before it was derailed in some sort of bizarre PTSD episode by Bulla.

Well, the business side of things is so completely different, I think it's as different a situation as the consumer's is on PS3.

On the one hand the PS3 has lost sony a lot of money (unlike GC for Nintendo), on the other though, it remains a relatively attractive and profitable place for third parties to do business (which has the obvious knock-on effects for consumer experience mentioned above) - again, unlike GC.

 

[Stoney Mason]

This is straight up candyfloss and moonbeams. You haven't just let go of reality, you've let it drift completely out of your sight.

It's been this way with the hardcore of the PS3 since the system launched. There are reasonable PS3 fans and reasonable 360 fans and zealots in both corners but the PS3 zealot has just been priceless this gen.

I still remember arguing with original PS3 guys that vibration was stupid and not needed. That Six Axis tilt controller was awesome. How achievements were dumb until trophies rolled around. How $600 was a fine price. etc, etc. It's never ending.

 

[Masklinn]

How so? I mean..for the consumers/owners?

For the console maker.

Nintendo made a bunch of dough on the GC hardware itself, and since they also released most of the games on the paltform (though not all of them) every game they released sold to a significant portion of the userbase, generating more profits for them.

On the other hand, Sony still loses money on the PS3, and since they don't have that many first-party games and they don't sell that well, they're not exactly making a killing on the games either.

They didn't have competitive publisher support.

Sony doesn't either, most of its exclusive have either been downgraded to "timed exclusives" or shot into multiplat (a category where the 360 has consistently showed stronger sales than the PS3), and it's not like the actual exclusives (when they're released at all) enjoy oh-so-monstrous sales.

 

[AniHawk]

Already discussed earlier--it's basically due to manufactured shortages (same thing we saw with MK Wii).

Did Mortal Kombat Armageddon for the Wii start selling like crazy below the top ten or something?

 

[levious]

I thought PS2's best month was a 2.4 million Dec, though.



Yeah, this.

yes, that's why he put up the Zoolander pic, should be required viewing for posters.

 

[BakedPigeon]

:lol :lol :lol

 

[soldat7]

I'm a biased PS3/PC gamer

I would have never guessed.

 

[AniHawk]

System: Average weeks ownership (Average purchase date)

Wii: 43.5 (March 5, 2008)
PS3: 49.5 (January 23, 2008)
X360: 71.1 (August 25, 2007)

Could you please explain to me what this is again?

 

[RSTEIN]

The PS3 failing is actually a good thing for consumers in the long run. It means we'll never have another $600 console. Or at least, not for a long time.

Well, the one downside is that, especially when coupled with the current economic environment, console manufacturers may gravitate towards more conservative console design decisions.

While Sony has truly fucked up this generation, and was already destined for 3rd place last year, at least they tried to truly innovate with their hardware. Tons of money was spent on Cell, Blu Ray, etc. Tons of money is being spent on Killzone 2 to really push the console and to develop tools for Sony's other studios. This gamble backfired and the key takeaway for executives is more power and innovation doesn't equal success. They look at the 360 (mostly off the shelf stuff) and Wii (self explanatory) and say, "hey, this doesn't have to be that hard after all!" Unfortunately the long-term benefit and trickle down effect of research and innovation may disappear. Sony tried to push forward but instead just got their head cut off.

 

[Christine]

yes, that's why he put up the Zoolander pic, should be required viewing for posters.

Natch. I didn't look at it that carefully and just dismissed it as some random press conference pic. I should have known better on the simple basis that it was JJS.

 

[Zoramon089]

Already discussed earlier--it's basically due to manufactured shortages (same thing we saw with MK Wii).

Uhh, explain because that doesn't make sense. And seriously, I have to lol whenever someone claims Nintnedo manufactures shortages (something that is said at least once every other month)

 

[damisa]

My argument is that PS3's perception of value will increase even more throughout 2009. Unless there is a proportionate price cut for the Wii and X360, the line-up of the PS3 will continue to look better than the competition, and a lower price-point will help it also.

The thing you don't seem to understand is:
The console without blu-ray, without a hard drive, without high-def, and with the worst online is killing the competition

To the vast majority of gamers:
waggle >>>>>>> blu-ray and high-def
mario kart+wii sports + wii fit >>>>>> uncharted+MGS4+Resistance+LBP+Killzone2+Valkyria Chronicles+entire rest of PS3 library combined

You get titles like Left for Dead and COD:WAW which hardly anyone hyped before release selling more than PS3's key holiday titles (LBP, Resistance 2). Basically your perception of value might not carry over to the general population.

 

[AstroLad]

Manufactured shortages?

Eat HERESY!

:lol (also @ Mortal Kombat reference).

It's pretty simple really--if you've gone into any store the past year (at least), there has usually been an absolute glut of Mario Kart DS games. Meanwhile, Nintendo was cashing in on the hype surrounding Mario Kart Wii and Nintendo's shocking (absolutely shocking!) purported "inability to meet demand."

Flash forward to the end of this year--all of I sudden far fewer Mario Kart DSes on the shelves, sometimes not at all. Sometimes overnight even. All this with absolutely no huge marketing campaign or other reason to justify some unprecedented turnaround in sales for the title. Unless of course you're familar with Nintendo's historical jiggering of the supply lines, as discussed in books such as Game Over I'm told, and certainly as evidenced during the entire Wii Generation.

"Mystery spike in demand?" When you know the history it's a simple case of Occam's Razor.

 

[Masklinn]

Well, the one downside is that, especially when coupled with the current economic environment, console manufacturers may gravitate towards more conservative console design decisions.

Wat?

While Sony has truly fucked up this generation, and was already destined for 3rd place last year, at least they tried to truly innovate with their hardware. Tons of money was spent on Cell, Blu Ray, etc.
[...]
This gamble backfired and the key takeaway for executives is more power and innovation doesn't equal success.

WTF? More hardware power != innovation.

They look at the 360 (mostly off the shelf stuff)

The 360 chip is 3 PPE. The same PPE that you can find in the Cell.

and Wii (self explanatory)

Dude, you should stop, the wii has the most innovative (general purpose) controls peripheral of the generation...

:lol (also @ Mortal Kombat reference).

It's pretty simple really--if you've gone into any store the past year (at least), there has usually been an absolute glut of Mario Kart DS games. Meanwhile, Nintendo was cashing in on the hype surrounding Mario Kart Wii and Nintendo's shocking (absolutely shocking!) purported "inability to meet demand."

Flash forward to the end of this year--all of I sudden far fewer Mario Kart DSes on the shelves, sometimes not at all. Sometimes overnight even. All this with absolutely no huge marketing campaign or other reason to justify some huge turnaround in sales for the title. Unless of course you're familar with Nintendo's historical jiggering of the supply lines, as discussed in books such as Game Over I'm told, and certainly as evidenced during the entire Wii Generation.

"Mystery spike in demand?" When you know the history it's a simple case of Occam's Razor.

How about "MKWii is enjoying monstrous sales and a huge appeal, which along with the horrifyingly strong sales of the DS might lead people to MKDS, because they enjoyed the Wii opus"?

 

[Balb]

Well, the one downside is that, especially when coupled with the current economic environment, console manufacturers may gravitate towards more conservative console design decisions.

While Sony has truly fucked up this generation, and was already destined for 3rd place last year, at least they tried to truly innovate with their hardware. Tons of money was spent on Cell, Blu Ray, etc. Tons of money is being spent on Killzone 2 to really push the console and to develop tools for Sony's other studios. This gamble backfired and the key takeaway for executives is more power and innovation doesn't equal success. They look at the 360 (mostly off the shelf stuff) and Wii (self explanatory) and say, "hey, this doesn't have to be that hard after all!" Unfortunately the long-term benefit and trickle down effect of research and innovation may disappear. Sony tried to push forward but instead just got their head cut off.

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't see anything innovative about the PS3 hardware (and I own one).

 

[Stoney Mason]

Well, the one downside is that, especially when coupled with the current economic environment, console manufacturers may gravitate towards more conservative console design decisions.

While Sony has truly fucked up this generation, and was already destined for 3rd place last year, at least they tried to truly innovate with their hardware. Tons of money was spent on Cell, Blu Ray, etc. Tons of money is being spent on Killzone 2 to really push the console and to develop tools for Sony's other studios. This gamble backfired and the key takeaway for executives is more power and innovation doesn't equal success. They look at the 360 (mostly off the shelf stuff) and Wii (self explanatory) and say, "hey, this doesn't have to be that hard after all!" Unfortunately the long-term benefit and trickle down effect of research and innovation may disappear. Sony tried to push forward but instead just got their head cut off.

The long term lesson should always be for a console to deliver good performance at a relatively reasonable price. These aren't PC's. If someone wants that sort of experience then they will go buy PC's. Building a super system isn't hard. Making a mass market system that people want to play the games that consoles owners want to play on is.

 

[Evlar]

Uhh, explain because that doesn't make sense. And seriously, I have to lol whenever someone claims Nintnedo manufactures shortages (something that is said at least once every other month)

It's plain that MKDS has been on the market for 3 years. It's plain from this month's sales data that demand for the game has still not been met. And it's plain to anyone with a fair view of the industry that Nintendo has a long history of limiting game shipments to drive up demand among their fanbase in short, frenzied bursts, much like a cocaine addict taking a hit.

1 + 1 + 1 = 3. It's very simple.

 

[Bulla564]

No, it's not. It's about how much the lineup appeals to the consumer, and how much they are willing to pay for it. And quality is not necessarily correlated to that in any way.

I agree. People were willing to pay $600, and now $400 for what the PS3 is offering. It's a hefty price to pay on a console's 3rd year, but the line-up calls for it. Now consider how elastic the video game market is, and the sales are not so surprising.

Not any more than 'all' flocked to the PS2. A net gain in absolute sales figures is in and of itself nothing to be proud of - the only other possibility is that it sells 0 units, after all.

A sinking ship would be selling less YoY. This was not the case.

You forgot the 'losing' part in your post. The PS2 was winning, riding a groundswell of popularity and perception as THE console to own that generation. The PS3 does not have any of that. It is largely derided as an inferior cousin to the X360 since the majority of games that people want for the system(s) are multiplatform.

LOL "inferior cousin"... once again you show how you are stuck in 2006. The X360 has gained some popularity compared to the Xbox1, but it's no PS2 replacement. I replaced 'loosing' with GREAT because a high price (which will be eliminated with time) is what is causing the PS3 to have a different perception from the PS2. Once that is gone, they will both be great consoles that appeal to a lot of people.

I don't care for how well the Blu-Ray players are 'supposed' to sell. The point is that being 'the best selling Blu-Ray player' is an utterly meaningless statistic when the Blu-Ray player portion obviously isn't helping the PS3 out of its pit.

Exactly, since you DON'T know how they are supposed to sell, nor how much it IS or ISN'T helping the PS3, spare us.

If the negative perception is based on price vs competition, then both Nintendo and MS have very easy ways to reinforce the negative perception, and are in fact in a better position to do so than Sony is to alleviate its position.

Nintendo, sure. MS, not so much.

In what way is the PS3 any more 'reliable' than the X360?

Hey buddy... they are BOTH reliable for 3rd parties, which is why nobody is jumping ship. 3rd parties can count on equal or better sales/userbase on the PS3.

The best you can hope for are multiplatform titles again, which gives the consumer no reason to choose the PS3 over the X360.

There is where the exclusives come in. MS can milk Gears and Halo to some extent, but the PS3 is doing great in that department.

Lastly, simply stating that there is a 'better outlook' proves nothing. You need evidence. And not generalities like 'a better lineup'. Games, specific reasons why they will appeal to the mass market and sell well enough to drive hardware sales, when one can expect a PS3 pricecut, how they can even afford to pricecut... that sort of thing.

I'd love to have access to Sony's numbers and projections too.

 

[Christine]

Could you please explain to me what this is again?

It's the average of (Sales in Month x * weeks since Month x) for all NPD months, IIRC. JJS thinks it serves as a better context for attach rate than the LTDs.

 

[gofreak]

Sony doesn't either, most of its exclusive have either been downgraded to "timed exclusives" or shot into multiplat (a category where the 360 has consistently showed stronger sales than the PS3), and it's not like the actual exclusives (when they're released at all) enjoy oh-so-monstrous sales.

Emmmm...that doesn't make their third party support 'uncompetitive'..cos pretty much no one has significant exclusive third party support any more!

Sony's lost exclusives, but they've still got the games. They still have competitive and strong third party support, just a lot less of it's exclusive now (not that a lot of it ever was exclusive..by the numbers, exclusive games were in the minority with PS2. They're just now even rarer still).

When you look at the overall picture, it's easy to see why despite the fact that they're 'third'. The publishing landscape has fractured..and in the bit that PS3 and 360 are concerned about, PS3 remains a large chunk of the pie (as well as, also, being a larger chunk in absolute terms than either of the previous two generation's third place install bases).