Despite Microsoft's near-total domination of the seventh console generation, Sony's PlayStation 3 managed to overtake the Xbox 360 in total sales just as the era came to a close in 2013. However, when it launched in 2006, the system seemed destined to flop. With a ridiculously high price tag of nearly $600 and a lack of must-have titles, the PS3 was subject to a multitude of memes early on.
The PlayStation 3 has long since fallen from fame in favor of more modern consoles, but it retains an avid community of fans who still relish the days of MotorStorm, Little Big Planet, and the original Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.
The Boomerang Controller
Microsoft's mishandling of the Xbox One reveal during E3 2013 was legendary, but Sony's worrisome PS3 showcase during E3 2005 was almost equally embarrassing. The system was loaded with unnecessary features that inflated the retail price, and the prototype controller shown off at the event — dubbed "the boomerang" by fans — came across as cumbersome and ridiculous.
Sony would later amend many of the console's shortcomings, but the company could never quite escape the ridicule that resulted from the boomerang's debut. Allegedly, it was much more ergonomic than the proceeding DualShock 2, but Sony smartly opted to go with something that boasted a bit more visual appeal.
Spidey-Senses
Sony made many baffling decisions during the PlayStation 3's first few years on the market, one of the more memorable being the system's bizarre logo. At the time, the Sam Raimi-directed Spider-Man trilogy was at the forefront of popular culture, with the third—and most meme-worthy—installment releasing in 2007. As a result, fans couldn't stop laughing at Sony's strangely out-of-touch approach.
Sony would eventually work to overhaul the console's image, offering up a new slim variant that was accompanied by a price drop and a new, more modern logo design. Still, the damage had been done, and the PlayStation 3 is, in the minds of some old-school meme makers, forever associated with Spider-Man.
Couldn't Be Me
The original PlayStation 3 console was loaded with weird odds and ends that weren't necessary in the slightest. Including several different card readers and strange additions such as SACD support, the machine was bogged down with bells and whistles that only served to increase the cost of the product.
However, backward compatibility with the PlayStation 2 was something that PS3 early adopters relished, but it was removed in later models. This remains a contentious topic among Sony fans, as only a select few systems still support the feature.
Impossible Emulation
Many developers bemoaned the odd proprietary internal architecture of the PlayStation 3 during its lifecycle. Said to be convoluted and tough to work with, Sony suffered from a lack of third-party support early on due to this developer-disparaging approach, and it continues to haunt the company today, as emulating the system has proven to be a burden.
Sony recently unveiled plans to preserve its legacy in gaming via a revamped PS Plus service which would grant access to certain titles ala Microsoft's uber-successful Game Pass service. Unfortunately, PS3 emulation remains a struggle, and it could be quite some time until some of the system's most celebrated games become fully playable on the PS5.
State of Play
Launch lineups can make or break a console early on, but Sony always seems to struggle to put together killer apps to coincide with their systems' release dates. The PlayStation 4 was mocked for limping out of the gate with exclusives like Knack and Killzone Shadowfall, and the PlayStation 5 paired a lack of supply with a lack of must-have experiences save perhaps for the Demon's Souls remake.
This was also true of the PlayStation 3. Outings such as Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire and Resistance: Fall of Man couldn't swing consumers enamored by a Microsoft console that had already enjoyed a year of support at that point.
It Only Does Everything
Memes from over a decade ago are often so antiquated that they're almost charming, and many posts from 2006 meant to mock the PlayStation 3 are now hilarious solely due to their age and obsolescence. At the time, all anyone needed to make a quality post was a single image, a black background, and some text reiterating a stale trope.
At the time, the PS3 grill meme was almost inescapable; loaded with flash card readers and support for all manner of media files that quickly fell out of favor, the tagline of "it only does everything" only served to highlight what was wrong with the system. Sony adding a grill and an extra hundred dollars to the price tag didn't seem out of the realm of possibility.
Console Redesigns
Console redesigns are nothing new; almost every successful console receives some kind of update or reissue. Sony, however, got a bit out of hand with the PlayStation 3. Fans typically consider there to have been five delineations of the console, each with its own features and drawbacks.
The most prominent PS3 progression was the PS3 Slim model which debuted in 2009. However, the subsequent Super Slim iteration, which debuted in 2012, garnered quite a bit of criticism, with many questioning its necessity and odd top loader design.
$599 US Dollars
Without a doubt, the most infamous aspect of the PlayStation 3 was its initial launch price. Confirmed at E3 2005 to cost just shy of six hundred dollars, the expense was tough to justify, especially for a system that didn't launch with a particularly stellar software lineup.
While the Sony faithful could purchase less expensive models with less storage space, the phrase "five-hundred-ninety-nine US dollars" became a huge meme in the gaming community, and it remains one of Sony's biggest blunders ever.
2+2=5
PlayStation 3 emulation may be a pipe dream for backward-compatibility-minded PlayStation 5 owners at the moment, but there is a glimmer of hope here; those who still have their old PS3 consoles can simply tape them to a PS2 in order to create an all-new PS5 console compatible with legacy Sony software. Well, maybe not, but it certainly would be nice.
Strangely enough, this meme is strangely prevalent in the ongoing debate about video game preservation. With many PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 titles still inaccessible on modern Sony hardware, keeping these old consoles in working order may be worth the while.
Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World The Game was a cartoony 2010 beat-em-up title that was only released digitally on the PlayStation Network and XBLA. It earned positive reviews and was heralded as one of the best movie tie-in games of all time. However, in late 2014, the game was delisted and thought to be lost forever.
Fortunately, the game received a widespread release in the form of the Complete Edition years later. Still, its sudden disappearance from digital storefronts became a contentious topic among PlayStation gamers, with many feeling that Sony and Ubisoft didn't care in the slightest for the long-term preservation of their products.