The playstation 3 is going to be a machine of machines. One that no other video game console can possibly match. It will have the Blue-ray drive, and have the ability to watch and burn DVD movies.
Even more, the Playstation 3 will be a mini computer, and have the ability to process information much much faster then the playstation 2 does, or even the XBox 360. All of this is great for Sony in theory, but when one sits back and analyzes the situation, it can become a bit more confusing.
When the Playstation 2 was released 7 years ago, the average number of games sold per unit sold was 5. Fastforward to the PSP; it released and has only sold about 2 games per PSP sold. This is mainly because of the multimedia aspect of the game. People are buying it to watch movies just as much as they are to play the games.
This doesn't sound so bad, but it can cause problems for Sony. A lot of Sony's income from video game consoles are the licensing fees they charge video game companies to create games on any of Sony's console platforms. Thus, when less games are being sold, less money is being paid for the rights to make games since not as many games are being bought compared to the past.
Another possible problem with the Playstation 3 is the complexity of the interface. Since the Playstation 3 is so powerful, crtics are speculating that the console may confuse consumers and give the PS3 the reputation of being complicated.
Whatever the case may be, the Playstation 3 will prove to be the biggest release in video game history.