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Over the course of a year, there has been a lot made of the sales numbers for the Sony Playstation 3, and where it sits in the current state of the console market. Living on past laurels and console sales, everyone thought that the Playstation 3 would sell well at first announcement. But over the course of development and press releases to the inevitable lackluster launch, the Playstation 3 continues to search for the breakthrough sales numbers that its predecessors had.

Looking at all that has been done, and being an outsider that has not had interest so far in getting a Playstation 3, I felt that there were some things that Sony could do to improve the sales and market share of their console. This is just my take on the situation, but I feel that taking these steps would be a huge benefit to the sales numbers of the console in the long run. And I will stay away from the price factor as one, because it is an obvious mention, but it will come up as an ancillary point to some of the items on this list.

Emotion Engine:

This may seem like an insignificant point, but it is probably the biggest change that Sony made to the 80GB model and it was a poor decision in hindsight. When pressed with the choice of a 60GB model and the 80GB model, far more consumers went to the 60GB model due to the hardware compatibility factor. Having the Emotion Engine in the launch Playstation 3 models made for near perfect compatibility with all PS2 game and most PS1 games.

Now, with the advent of the 80GB model and a software emulation compatibility model, we have seen some backward steps in previous game compatibility. The current numbers show compatibility down as low as 60-70%. While this is better than the 360 compatibility chart, it does not meet the standards that Sony has met in the past regarding compatibility in their consoles. Adding the Emotion Engine back would be such an insignificant cost when you think about the marketing potential of saying games going back almost 8 years are flawlessly compatible with our new machines. It just seems like a no brainer and a good reversal of a bad decision.

Reduce the SKUs

One of the biggest pitfalls that Microsoft started and the Playstation 3 continued was the multiple SKU console. While Sony went about it a little better by including a hard drive with every model, the sheer number of PS3 consoles is starting to get a bit dizzying. We have a 20GB model, a 60GB model, an 80GB model and now a rumored 40GB model. And the fact that they have already phased out two of these models before a year under the belt of the console makes some users unsure of what changes will happen in the near future. If a consumer does not feel like they can buy something without the fear of change in the console market, they will wait. It is one of the reasons the entire next gen console sales have been decent, but not earth shattering.

Retire the PS2

This one will probably garner the most flack, but it is the step that seems to be fairly obvious. Right now, the PS3 is competing with its own predecessor. And the fact that more games are coming to the PS2 than the PS3 at this point in its inception is a major issue. Why should someone go get a PS3, when Madden 08 is on the PS2? Or when a game like God of War 2 is on the PS2. These are just a few titles, but when you look at the new titles that have come to the PS2 a year into the PS3s launch, it is just cannibalizing sales. The PS3 cannot grow when the PS2 is still outselling it by a 4 to 1 margin. Many complained about the complete abandonment of the original Xbox shortly after the launch of the 360, but it meant that there would be no competition with itself.

And this step is a double edged sword, because the PS2 is the cash cow for Sony at this point. They make money on each sale of the console at this point, and it supports the PS3s existence at this point in time. But with so many new games coming to the older platform, it just seems to take away from the urgency to move into the next generation.

Play the Money Game

Sony used to be great and keeping exclusives in house just by sheer volume of console sales. All a company had to do was look at the market penetration of the Playstation brand and they knew that they could keep a game exclusive to their platform, because it would make money. This advantage no longer exists, so they need to use a card that their competitor uses on a regular basis. Cold, hard cash. Plain and simple, Microsoft wanted to secure GTA IV content, so they found out that the answer to do this was $50 million. Sony needs to start taking this route to keep some of those developers on the fence in regards to exclusiveness. You want to keep a Devil May Cry or a Metal Gear Solid on the PS3. Start throwing some money at Capcom and Konami.

It seems like a cheap way to get things done, but there is an old saying that states, “Money talks and BS walks”. Developers cannot guarantee to recoup the development costs of an exclusive title on the PS3 right now, because the console does not have the kind of market penetration it wants. But if you add some cash into the deal, it can take that risk. And exclusives help grease the wheels to potential sales.

Get Star Titles Out the Door Faster

This is the hardest option of the bunch, because you don’t want to hurt the quality of a title by rushing it. But at the same time, you need serious hits on the Playstation 3 at this point in time. A year after launch is when you should have your heavyweight titles on the market, but we are still looking at a rather average line-up from Sony and the third party producers. Lair has been a critical and commercial bust, Heavenly Sword is doing well, but did not review as high as expected and we are still waiting for a Resistance type title. Warhawk is a good title and shows what can be done with the console in regards to the pick up and play style of game. But there needs to be some big time name hits on the console at this point.

Gran Turismo 5 has been delayed longer which is a disappointment, because that is a big game that can move units. Killzone 2 has been delayed and would be a great hit to have on the market sooner, to compete with Halo 3. Unreal Tournament 3 is a good shot at a hit, but it has normally been a staple of the PC world, so it remains to be seen if it will push PS3 sales. Again, this is the hardest part of the equation to make happen, but when developers continue to delay releases to refine them or because of alleged difficulties, they just hamper the sales of the PS3, due to another lost opportunity when compared to market rivals.

Are there some factors that I missed? I am sure of it, but these five seem to be what I think, to be the best ways for Sony to move units. I don’t own a PS3, but these steps would be a good way to get gamers that have owned PS2s, to get off the stump and invest in the next generation from Sony and not to a rival company.