Sony has been plagued with bad publicity, defective products (laptop batteries), and even worse, market strategy decisions. As Sony watched Nintendo spank everyone else on the gaming front with their innovative Wii and dominate the handheld market with the DS, they have to be wondering what happened to their throne. Then, along comes Microsoft and the Xbox 360 Elite. It comes with the shadow of success from little brother Xbox 360, new larger HDD and HDMI and oh, it's black.

As to bad marketing decisions, as this article was being written, a new blow to Sony and God of War II has hit the internet. At the God of War II release party hosted by the UK Sony division and their UK Playstation magazine, they decided to have a Grecian feast with a dead goat as the center piece. I am not saying this was the worst choice they ever made, because we all know it is not. But could it be the one that hurts them the most? As in all things, there are two sides to the matter. Sony states that a third party was hired to host the part and make all decisions in regards to it. Anti-gaming and people from associations such as PETA say it is appalling and the reason kids kill. Whatever the angle chosen, it is still bad press for all gamers and especially Sony.

So, what should Sony do to regain there throne as King of Console?

Step One: Kill the 20GB version of the PS3. Why this one was even made I am not sure, other than get rid of their excess stock of 20GB HD sitting on the shelf. So after years of developing, creating and distributing, it died in less than 6 months. For most retailers and gamers this comes as no real surprise as the 20GB was not selling compared to the 60GB at a ratio of almost 10 to 1.

"At launch, we offered two separate models of PLAYSTATION 3 to meet the diverse needs and interests of our PlayStation fan base. Initial retail demand in North America was upwards of ninety percent in favor of the 60GB sku, so we manufactured and shipped-in accordingly. Due to the overwhelming demand for the 60GB model from both retailers and consumers, we have ceased offering the 20GB model here in North America," said SCEA senior director of corporate communications Dave Karraker.

"In addition to the larger internal hard drive, the 60GB PlayStation 3 features added storage media slots and built-in Wi-Fi not found in the 20GB system. Based on retailer and consumer feedback, we have decided to focus our current efforts on the more popular 60GB model," he concluded.

Step Two: Create a larger model to compete with the new Xbox 360 Elite, thus creating a battle of the next-gen consoles round two. As there has been no official word as of yet, one would say no but as I am the ever Sony-optimist, I believe in the very near future it will be a yes. Sony will want to compete on a level of storage capacity. I personally don’t believe this one thing will make a big impact but should be enough to push in the right direction. If Sony goes in this direction anything less than 100GB may not be enough for consumers to even think about upgrading. Here is a letter sent to Microsoft from SVP Peter Dille.

"We think every PlayStation 3 owner should have an 'elite' experience, which is why we include an internal hard drive and HDMI output in every PS3 we sell, along with the 50 GB of storage capacity on a high definition Blu-ray disc. Sony has been the strongest advocate of high definition as the future of next-generation gaming. This requires high-definition components, including HDMI output, and large storage devices to deliver and store all that rich and vivid HD content. Microsoft's announcement today [er, "tomorrow"] not only legitimizes Sony's PS3 strategy, it moves us closer to adopting universal standards in the area of high definition gaming that will benefit game developers and ultimately the end user."

Step Three: Fire a legend and bring in the top contender. Ken Kutaragi may have been, nay, is the father of the PlayStation and PS2 but it seems as if he went down swinging with the PS3. Through bad marketing, production problems, and extremely disappointing sales, Sony had to find someone to throw under the proverbial bus and Kutaragi seems to be just the person. So now that he is out, who's in? Kazuo Hirai, a more software minded leader. This may be a great step for Sony as every gamer knows it is the games that sell a console. With many exclusive titles going over to its competitor Microsoft, this may be just the thing Sony needs.

Step Four: Drop the price! No. Sony has dropped the price on its history making PS2 and its struggling PSP but it should hold off on a price drop for the PS3. This is simple economics, price does not create a demand. Until Sony can show gamers, and even the gamers who dislike Sony, the true advantage of having a PS3 over any other system, price will not matter. Mind you, this editor believes the PS3 is worth every penny it costs and still would be at any price point under $600. Now after almost a whole year on the market with a solid, must-have library of games available, plus the creation of a cheaper blu-ray diodes for the the laser, then drop the price. All that's left is to watch consumers eat up the PS3 for the holidays and ask for seconds.