Sony’s PS3 has not been leaving store shelves as of late. Solitary amidst the 3 main video game consoles, sales of the PS3 have decreased approximately 19% from November 2007, based on the most current statistics from the NPD Group. Sony was just able to sell 378,000 PS3 units this November, compared to 466,000 in the previous year.

The trouble for Sony is not the recession, it is the PS3 itself. Microsoft sold considerable devices of its Xbox 360, totalling 836,000 units vs 777,000 in November 2007. Nintendo’s Wii remains the market leader, more than doubling sales from 981,000 to 2.04 million.

So why is the PS3 not succeeding any longer?

1. It is the most high-priced console on the market, $150 - $200 more than its competitors. The video game industry is not really “recession-proof”, The economic crisis causes consumers to be more price-aware.
2. The PS3’s big incentive is its feature to also be a Blu-Ray player. The reaility is that few seem to care about hi-definition DVDs. The differences between Blu-Ray and DVD are hard to see on a TV that is less than 50″ in size.
3. The PS3 simply  does not have any popular titles that are exclusive only to the console. “LittleBigPlanet” has created a certain excitement but it is not a game-changer, and neither is Sony’s new virtual world “Home.”

There is seemingly only 1 option remaining for Sony to maintain its status in the gaming market: significant price cuts.