Sony's Next Big Move

Sony has been claiming, for as long as I can recall, that the PS3 is a console that will be around for the long haul. Part of this "long haul" involves the system not truly coming into its prime until further along in its life time. Well, I'm starting to feel Sony is about to make its move.

In May, 2009, NPD (we will miss them) reported that the PS2's sales were almost as good as the PS3's (117,000 PS2s and 131,000 PS3s). What's more, while I'm not sure how accurate these numbers are, it would appear the NPD is reporting that there have been a total of 44.1 million PS2's sold worldwide, while there are only 7.7 million PS3s sold worldwide.

While this is nothing new, as we've all joked about how the PS2 remains Sony's biggest console, it seems like Sony has been saving the best advantages it has had for this Holiday Season.

First off, Sony has recently patented new software PS2 backwards compatibility for the PS3. If this runs as well as their PS1 emulation for the PSP, then this will be a great move that will soften the transition from PS2 to PS3.

The second thing is the PS3 slim coming up. Sony has decided to keep this under wraps for a while, but I think this is mainly because they want to save the surprise and hype that it will bring for the holiday season. This form factor will be a huge plus for those who have held back on getting a PS3 based on its huge size and high power consumption. Yep, the new PS3 will have lower power consumption.

The final strike to me on Sony's plan are the price drop rumors. I really think Sony has held back on the price drop for after Nintendo's Wii lost popularity and was no longer artificially scarce, and for after Microsoft's 360 price cuts.

The only thing I really see standing in Sony's way is how well Microsoft has set the 360 up as a media player, especially with Netflix streaming. Though, if the PS3 is going to receive Netflix as well, then we could see a shift in the Media Center/Gaming Console favor to Sony's side, as Blu-Ray support on the PS3 is great.

It will be interesting to see how well Sony fares this Holiday Season, as the console game seems to have become more of a "wait your turn" for good sales amongst the major companies.