The folks over at PS3FanBoy.com just came out with a top ten list on why the PS3 still is relevant in the current gaming world.  Honestly the PS3 is doing just fine in mainland Europe where gamers bow down to the Sony thrown.  In the Japan the PS3 is getting the Wii's sloppy seconds but still is moving consoles.  Last month's NPDs showed the PS3 may be a contender this year, passing the 360 and nipping at the Wii's heals.  Sure the PS3 is relevant but here is my opinion on the ten items PS3Fanboy points out.

1) BluRay won the Format War

This will definitely help Sony move BluRay players but will it really help it move PS3s?  I tend to think this is way over blown.  Sure a bunch of 20 something college kids will buy a PS3 to watch a BluRay movie but is your dad going to pick one up?  Until we see people going out and throwing away their SDTVs, BluRay will still be only for the technophiles.

2) High Quality PSN Games

This one is a real stretch in my opinion.  No one goes out of their way to buy a game console for a downloadable game.  There are plenty of good PSN and XBLA games out there and you play them a couple times then move on.  These games are cheap enough that you won't mind the fact you played it five times then forgot about it.  Maybe there are people still playing Everyday Shooter or Geometry Wars but those people are poor and can't afford new games.

3) Great DLC support for first part titles

I admit DLC is really nice to have and will prolong the life of a game.  The fact remains that DLC is gimped on the PS3, just ask the Oblivion developers.  Anyone can deliver new maps and weapons but can you deliver new levels or missions?  In all honesty the only developers to really take advantage of DLC are Bethesda with all their expansion packs to Oblivion.  There just is not enough quality DLC out there anymore.  A map pack should be the rule in a multiplayer game, not the exception so just because WarHawk and Resistance poop out a new map I'm not going to get excited.

4) Dual Shock 3

The lack of rumble may have kept a few people away but I doubt it kept many away.  If anything I bet it hurt multiplatform games like Devil May Cry 4 on the PS3 where rumble is a real feature so fans chose to buy the Xbox 360 version instead.  Maybe this controller will magically fix all issues with controllers and lead to gamer nirvana but I'm not holding my breath.

5) Value for the Money

This one is really milking the first item since basically they are stating the PS3 is a cheap BluRay player.  At $399 you are buying a device that can play video games and play BluRay movies.  Sure Sony, Samsung and Sharp all have a dedicated BluRay player that sells for the same price as the 40GB PS3 but the PS3 has a hard drive and plays games!  It's also about twice the size of those dedicated players and will heat a small apartment in the winter.  It's not a great value if you don't play games.  If you do play games and I mean ones besides Madden, NBA 2K or NHL 2K then it makes sense to buy a PS3 for games and BluRay.

6) Regular Firmware Updates

The ability to add new features by releasing software updates is a great feature Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft put in their game consoles.  Only thing is that the random patch comes across and it doesn't take 30 seconds like the one the Xbox 360 gets.  It's a bit longer to install.  Still knowing your console will evolve is a wonderful thing.  Firmware updates are great but it's like saying your game console plays games.  Um duh!  They all do that now.

7) Remote Play

Play PS3 games on your PSP has to be the stupidest feature I've ever heard.  Lets take a game meant to be played on a TV with a game controller and make it "run" on my hand held with a really small screen and lossy inputs.  I see no benefit from this feature except now you have something to do with your PSP.

8) Metal Gear Solid 4

I'm sure a lot of Metal Gear Solid fans out there are looking forward to MGS4 but lets reel this back a bit.  This title has always done well by virtue of the PS2's huge install base.  Will this game sell more than one million in it's first month like Halo 3, Call of Duty 4 or Gears of War?  Unfortunately it will not.  Still MGS4 is the proof that there are really good games that are eventually coming to the PS3.  If Konomi has faith that the PS3 fan base can support it's top tier titles then others may follow.

9) Little Big Planet

Again I think Little big Plan is the example, not the reason the PS3 is relevant.  Little big Planet represents the ability to add user created content to the PS3.  Sony has an open system that allows user mods and embraces it's community to share content.  This is a big item for Sony because Microsoft has not been willing to open up Xbox Live to game mods.

10) Home

Here is Sony's biggest failure:  not embracing an online community for their games and making it fairly hard to play with friends online.  Sony pushed this off on developers but the community expressed their discontent.  Home is Sony's response to Xbox Live and should eventually offer the features players on Xbox Live have enjoyed for several years.  The fact that Sony is making some Second Life UI on top of all of this is a bit bizarre. Sony is over promising again but I bet Home will be awesome on the PS4.

Sony has proven that they can sell consoles in Europe and with their biggest titles coming this year should be able to sell games as well.  Is Sony relevant in the US should be answered this year by sales of MGS4, Resident Evil 5, Grand Theft Auto 4 and Gran Tourismo 5. 

If the PS3 can't sell hardcore games in the US you will start to see even more games go multiplatform and possibly see the PS3 slip into oblivion.  So far the PS3 can't place games consistently in the top 10 of the NPDs each month.  If this continues we'll see the 360 continue to be the console of choice for the hardcore in the US.

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