In November, Lono argued that 2008 wasn’t the year of the PS3. Spookily, he took note of the price tag and how the 360 was undercutting Sony’s behemoth by exploiting the huge cost. When the NPD sales figures for November were released a few weeks later, the PS3 was well and truly shamed.Microsoft even predicted that the PS3 had flopped: to be more accurate, they thought the 360 had outsold the PS3 by two-to-one. With the $199 price point, they had a right to be confident, and just as they predicted they utterly trashed Sony’s console by – you guessed it – two-to-one. It was the 360’s best month since launch and one of the PS3’s worst. Ouch.

What’s more, PS3 actually shifted fewer units in November 2008 than it did in November 2007. Double ouch.

Then the hate started to rain in from every sort of news outlet out there. CNN and the Washington Times joined in, along with the Wall Street Journal. Each outlet pointed out the same sorts of factors when discussing the PS3’s November failings: expenses, Blu-Ray not being as big a system-seller as Sony had hoped, a lack of exciting console exclusives.

You know what? They’re right. As much as I love my PS3, there isn’t much out there that excites me in terms of exclusives. I think my £425 (800 friggin’ bucks) was worth it in the long term. I watched Transformers last night on Blu-Ray and thought it looked brilliant, even if the story was held together with duct tape and willpower. I’m probably one of a minority of people who feel that the PS3 is – at the moment – a worthwhile purchase.

The majority of people have spoken with their wallets and made clear their preference. It’s not that consumers aren’t ready for the console but that the console isn’t ready for the highly sensitive market. With money being tight, consumers will opt for the cheaper console and no amount of high-def dressing can change that until things level out in the future.

To end on a high note though, I can see the PS3’s fortunes improving – at the earliest – in 2010. Over the next year or so, the costs for producing blue laser diodes and Cell processors will drop slowly as the parts move into proper mass production and find their way into more consumer products. We’ll see cheaper Blu-ray drives and with that cheaper PlayStation 3 consoles, and perhaps cheaper Blu-ray games. Only when prices drop will the PS3’s fortunes improve.

Until then, the PS3’s in for a rough ride, and November’s NPD figures only go to show that this future is all but inevitable. PS3’s unfortunate tanking in sales – after relentless optimism – falls in at #8 in our Top 100 Gaming Moments of 2008.

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