PlayStation 3 Review

The PS3 launched at $599 for the 60 GB model and the pitch was a Cell processor whose seven usable SPEs demanded that studios hand-schedule work most engines had never learned to split. Multiplatform ports ran worse than the 360's for years as a direct result. Add a launch controller with no rumble, a piano-black shell that scratched if you looked at it, and a marketing campaign built around a ceramic baby, and the first two years were a rout.

What saved it was Blu-ray winning the format war, online play staying free while the competition charged, and first-party studios that eventually got the machine to sing: Uncharted 2, Demon's Souls, LittleBigPlanet, Journey, Metal Gear Solid 4 and The Last of Us, which shipped in 2013 and still looked like a generational statement. The Slim in 2009 at $299 finally made the value case work. It ended in a good place. Getting there cost Sony billions and a market lead it had held since 1994, and the grade has to carry that.