The times, they are a changin'

 A year ago, the PS3 was in pretty bad shape. Black Friday had come and gone, and the PS3 got whooped on in the process. Rock Band 360 bundles were flying off shelves, and there was no way that Sony was going to catch up. There were still high hopes, but some people honestly thought that the PS3 had taken a reeling punch that it would never fully recover from. The library was utter crap, games were too expensive, the hardware was too expensive, the system was a monolith, and the company had no real identity.

 Thankfully, Sony didn't tap out, and instead pulled itself out of the gutter with a mixture of guts, timing, and pure luck. They cut the price of the console by 25%, worthy bundles started showing up, and whatever loss they were going to take on Black Friday in system sales they were going to make up for with an install base that is still growing by leaps and bounds. There's no easy way to say this, but once the price of the PS3 was within reach of mortals, there is no question that the Xbox was second on the population's mind. Sales figures prove it, and almost everyone I know that was without a system snapped up the PS3 like it was common sense. Even a few Xbox devoted have ceded that the PS3 is sitting pretty right now, and it's only going to get better.

 Before you yell "fanboy", I still think that Sony has problems that they need to sort out. They're still the loser, but all the facts point to a wicked comeback, and that's worthy news. Over the past 3 months, they have managed to keep pace with Microsoft. In August, Sony was behind by 6.4 million consoles. Currently, they are about 6.6 million units behind. For a console that had the "loser" tag on it, it's amazing that they kept up. Cleaning house on Black Friday means that the gap will shrink, and the holiday season isn't even over. We'll find out how strong the PlayStation brand name is over the course of the month, but if last weekend was any indication, they could conceivably bring the gap well under 6 million by the time the year is over with.

 The new "it only does everything" slogan in blue seems to be working for Sony, effectively ceding one of the most expensive marketing errors their company has ever produced and returning the console to its roots. Right down to the logo and plastic casing, this system is finally reminding people what owning PS2 dominance felt like. The more familiar look is likely to get a few sales back in Sony's corner, and their Sony "family" is finally getting some real use. Even the media marketplace is finally looking really good, and rumors are heavy that the upcoming backwards compatibility should be a free "thank you" to follow through on promises rather than a paid scam.

 To think, all of this good news for Sony and their potential sales, and we still haven't even made it to Final Fantasy XIII.

 Yet, there I go, mentioning software like Sony had planned this. No, they got really lucky. A year ago, PlayStation owners were wondering just where their titles were. The shelves were barren of anything worth playing exclusive to the black beast. A year later, everything has changed.

 Demon's Souls came out of nowhere to pacify the RPG fans who were about to lose their minds over a lack of truly great games for the genre. Sure, Atlus was certainly surprised enough to reprint the game, but Sony sure as hell didn't expect that kind of attention and wound up with a terrific piece of ammunition for the fight.

 Then there were the exclusives. Infamous came out and met expectations. Uncharted 2 blew everyone away. The downloadable hit Fat Princess caught attention when the PSN was notorious for having few exclusives. The future looks to be in good shape, too. MAG and God of War III are on the way, and the Last Guardian was looking like a worthy follow up for Team ICO.

 Good multiplatform games then started to swarm. Modern Warfare 2. Batman: Arkham Asylum. Bayonetta. Ninja Gaiden 2. Borderlands. Dragon Age. Assassin's Creed 2.

 For once, a PS3 owner can feel overwhelmed by the amount of great games out there. It's partially luck that it all happened so fast, but it's also what happens when you put a powerful system out there that no one has truly figured out how to use yet. The PlayStation library is going to get better in a hurry, and we haven't even made it to the point in the current console generation where niche titles start to see the light of day. Atlus hasn't made a major release outside of Demon's Souls, which they only published, so you can count on even better times ahead.

 So yeah, they got lucky. They had a lot go right for then in the span of a year that really saved their brand, part of it planned, part of it blind luck, and part of it was also taking that blind luck and running with it. This is Sony we're talking about, so it's entirely possible they may choose to pull off some bonehead move to alienate the populace yet again. For now, PS3 owners can finally smile.

 As a final note, to the many Diggers and media boys out there who think that the current generation is on the fade, think with your brains. We aren't even at the halfway point. Both the 360 and the PS3 will peak in the near future, but we haven't even touched on what both consoles are truly capable of. Developers are still learning what they can do with the hardware.Microsoft is sitting pretty with a "stable" piece of hardware with a good lifespan, and they will expand functionality. Sony still wants to make a profit, and their system hasn't even begun to peak. A new system would be a huge flush of cash, partners, publicity, and trust.

 Why haven't I mentioned Nintendo? Well, it's obvious that if they really want to stay in the game, they're going to have to go the DSi route and release an updated Wii system, or the "Wii HD" as it has been termed. Third parties familiar with GameCube and Wii experience are already sending games out the door at a blistering pace and would LOVE a boost in power to take advantage of the install base and cheap development costs while seriously competing with the other companies' major titles. Expect Wii Motion Plus to be built in to the Wiimote, better graphical capabilities, 720p, a bigger focus on digital media, and a couple of serious ports (RE5). I'd even go so far to say that they will sneak a camera and a good microphone onto the system and Wiimotes, as well as putting some focus on social media. This would not only give them video chat and an integrated headset, but also evolve their patented motion controls to compete with Natal and the Wand. Expect it.

 Thus ends my "state of the big 3" that is customary every other month. Digg It Stumble it ! Reddit