We know we keep bad mouthing the PS3 launch plans. We do sort of hate to keep harping on it. Please rest assured — none of us think that the PS3 will have anything less than some amazing games when it's released later this year. With the exception of Joel, none of us are bought-and-paid-for Microsoft meat puppets, and while we love the idea and execution of the Wii, we have a few gripes with that device as well, chief among them the ridiculous new name and the loosey-goosey feel of the controller when actually attempting to use it to play a game.

But, objectively speaking, every aspect of the PS3's launch seems muddled. From the limited number of consoles available at launch to its bulky, ugly design, we already were arching our eyebrows quizzically even before Sony announced the console's outrageous price. And we're not the only ones. Sony's blundered this launch so badly that Microsoft's Peter Moore is openly praising the Wii and wondering why anyone would pay $600 for a PS3 when they could buy a 360 and a Wii for the same price.

Tell me why you would buy a $600 PS3? People are going to buy two (machines.) They're going to buy an Xbox and they're going to buy a Wii ... for the price of one PS3... People will always gravitate toward a competitively priced product — like what I believe Wii will be — with innovative new designs and great intellectual property like Mario, Zelda and Metroid.

And, of course, he's right. The PS3's price is bad for Sony and bad for gamers. Unless you're desperate to adopt Blu-Ray, why wouldn't you buy two great consoles — both innovative in their own way — for the price of one? The only aces Sony has up its sleeve seem to be Final Fantasy XIII and Metal Gear Solid 4 at this point. Games we're excited to play, but not at the tune of an inch thick stack of benjamins.

Microsoft sides with Nintendo in fight vs Sony [Yahoo News]

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