The PlayStation 3 released to the world in late 2006 and early 2007, more than a year after the launch of the Xbox 360, the console’s most comparable competitor, and more or less simultaneously with Nintendo’s Wii.

This late start, initially seen by Sony as a way to one-up the Xbox 360 (as the company did to the SEGA Dreamcast with the release of the PS2 in 2000), meant Sony had to deal with a direct competitor with a significant installed user-base (Xbox 360) while launching in the face of a family-friendly, value-priced console (Wii) from gaming juggernaut Nintendo.

This market environment, paired with relatively weak launch software and a very high price point, wreaked havoc on early adoption numbers.  In fact, the PS3 was seen as a business enigma by market-makers and as an overpriced, overpowered hunk of electronics by consumers.  Sony had packed so many bells and whistles into their system that they had to sell the platform for $499.99 and $599.99 (depending on hard drive size), significantly above that of the competition, and significantly less than what it cost Sony to build the product.  That’s right; according to production figures, the PS3 cost Sony Computer Entertainment $800-$850 (USD), leading to multi-billion dollar losses for the company in its first couple years at market.

Graciously, production costs have gone way down; thanks in no small part to a major redesign, rebranding, and re-launching of the system in late 2009.  The large, convex chassis of the original PS3 was done away with in favor of a much smaller, more efficient “Slim” version.  Unfortunately, specific bits of functionality were also done away with – most notably, backwards compatibility with PS2 titles, multi-card memory inputs, and the ability to install a different operating system (Linux, for example) were dropped.

The PS3 Slim, according to Sony, is a third smaller than the original, more than a third lighter, and it consumes about a third less power due to its revamped Cell processors.  The result of the redesign means Sony has been able to significantly reduce production costs, passing those savings directly onto consumers.  The PS3 Slim now costs just $299.99 (USD), in-line with that of the competition.

The PS3 Slim, despite its mildly limited functionality compared to its previous iterations, is still the best electronics hardware value out there.  The PS3 Slim sports a Blu-ray player, Bluetooth accessory support, a 120 GB (or 250 GB) hard drive, and rock-solid componentry throughout.

Because of this, the PS3 has made significant strides in terms of gaining worldwide market share.  What’s more, the software side of the console is picking up, nearly eliminating the gap between the variety and quality of its gaming library compared to that of Microsoft’s Xbox 360.

So, what can the PS3 do?  Well, as heralded by its most recent ad campaigns, just about everything.  From media server streaming to photo viewing, incorporation of Netflix streaming and free online multiplayer gameplay, the PS3 is a great home console for gaming, multimedia, and more.

The PS3 also offers stereoscopic 3D gaming and 3D Blu-ray movie viewing, assuming you own a 3D compatible television.  Additionally, taking note of Nintendo’s rampant success with motion controls for Wii and the integration of Kinect into the Xbox 360, Sony has launched a new controller, which uses the PlayStation Eye camera peripheral, called PlayStation Move.  This controller supports 1:1 response to player movement for the most accurate motion controls available.

Pros:
•    Amazing hardware provided to consumers at near-cost from the manufacturer
•    Internet browser support
•    Multimedia server functionality that’s second to none
•    Blu-ray and DVD player
•    Accessories linked to console via Bluetooth technology
•    Free online multiplayer gameplay
•    High quality photo, movie, and music reproduction
•    Upgradeable hard drive port that allows connectivity with third-party products

Cons:
•    Online community still lags behind the competition
•    The Netflix streaming service is functional yet inferior to Xbox 360’s integrated application (although it's only temporarily that way)
•    The software library isn’t as expansive as it should be, though it's close
•    No longer supports PS2 backwards compatibility
•    Relatively slow delivery of digital content via the PlayStation Network
•    It’s more difficult to develop for, so many multi-platform games are marginally worse 

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