We are a few years into this generation of consoles and history has once again repeated itself. Much like the old NES and PS1 days, the most successful console is also the one that is less powerful and less expensive. For the first time since its jump into the videogame industry Sony is struggling to expand its install base for the PS3 and turn a profit. While the Wii is in a world of its own, Microsoft and the Xbox 360 is Sony’s main competitor. Even after eating a fortune by repairing broken Xbox 360’s free of charge, Microsoft has still managed to get back on its feet and is doing better than ever. It’s time for Sony to bring out the big guns and we’ve thought of a few ways to help Sony get back above water.

Obvious Price Drop

I’m not going to spend a lot of time here because it’s painfully obvious that the PS3 is way too expensive for today’s marketplace. Sony can no longer justify the price because of the built in Blu-ray player because it’s now possible to find one at half the price of a PS3. With every new iteration of the PS3 Sony seems to have stripped something out of the console and it becomes less capable of becoming the central hub of our living room entertainment center. Currently the only solution is to price the system at a competitive level. It may sound harsh but I think a $100 price drop is in order. Perhaps this won’t hurt Sony too badly if the rumored PS3 slim is real as that can help offset the price of production substantially. This may mean more canned features but Sony can make up for it by paying more attention to the games - which brings me to my next point.

Bring Back Backwards Compatibility

The consumers have scolded Sony for taking backwards compatibility out of the later PS3 models. Sony seems to justify this by giving us the impression that we must look towards the future, but at the same time it continues to talk about the relevance of the PS2 long after its had its swan song. Gamers want to ability to play their old games (even if they aren’t) and will be more open to purchasing a PS3 if they had that choice. Either Sony can find a way to emulate the PS2 and release it in a firmware update or simply move PS2 games to a Blu-ray disc. Imagine if Sony released the PS2 Capcom collection, SCEA collection or the Konami collection on Blu-ray. They could squeeze every Onimusha, Resident Evil and Devil May Cry game all on the same disc and charge $30 or $40 for it. They can make us remember which console had these games first and why we should continue to support Sony in the future. Sony could also just take the digital distribution route with PS2 games.

Brand PSN as a Platform

The PlayStation Network has taken some steps to move beyond the traditional gaming space with Home and it’s a good start. Personally I think Home is a little too stiff and frankly boring, but it’s too late to do a complete overhaul. Sony should bring PSN to all its other devices with gaming being a core element of it. My idea is to take a page out of Microsoft’s book with 1 vs 100 and create a Buzz! Quiz Tv competition for everyone to play. Sony could dish out prizes such as games, vouchers and clothes for your Home avatar for each game. Now imagine if you could access PSN on your Bravia television, Sony Ericsson phone and your PSP. Everyone could play Buzz! no matter where they are whenever the game is going on. Sony could fund the service through clever advertising with whomever it chooses. Advertising in and out of games on consoles isn’t going anywhere so why not take full advantage of it?

These are just my opinions but whatever Sony has up its sleeve needs to be brought to the light very soon. The wand controller is neat, but it needs to expand its reach by way of social networking and building a bigger sense of community.