So last week when Sony announced that you would be able to buy and rent movies through the Playstation Network I was estatic. Direct delivery of HD content to my box and it get charged to my credit card? Good bye trips to the video store. Then when it showed up just a couple of days after the announcement, I was ready to go.

Or so I thought I was. For some reason, I can’t get over this hurdle of actually purchasing or renting a movie. My reason for not purchasing is very clear. After I download a movie, I can only watch it on my PS3 or my PSP. You can’t burn it to DVD to watch anywhere and the prices are about equivalent to a DVD. So the lack of portability to any DVD capable player is keeping me away from that.

Rentals should be a no brainer. $2, get it in HD, 2 weeks to start watching it then 48 hours of viewing time. Ok, all fine and good but having the terms spelled out like makes me actually think about the terms of the rental. I start doing things like comparing it to Netflix which will let me keep a movie rental out as long as I want and won’t send me my next one until after I send the ones I have back. Or even my local video store where all rentals are $3 but you get to keep them for 10 days with as many re-watches as you like. Because of the built in accounts it seems to me that Sony could adopt the Netflix model and really give the XBox360 a run for it’s money.

Here is a couple of suggestions for Sony that they should be able to easily apply to the video store today to make it better and get people over the hump of purcasing.

1) Change your rental policies to match Netflix. You are going to be competing with them on the XBox360 so match their terms.

2) Allow me to burn a limited number of copies of a movie to DVD. I am not totally sure on the best way to accomplish this. Sony branded DVD burner for the PS3 perhaps? But allow me to burn at least 1 copy of a movie I purchase to DVD for archival purposes or to bring to a friend’s house so I physically own the movie instead of having it sit on a hard drive somewhere.

3) Give all current PS3 owners a free rental/purchase. Many of us have owned the system for a year and half going through some adoption pains. Say thank you by giving us a try at the video store before putting down duckets. You know once we see the process of how it works we will be hooked.

4) Offer up a trophy for purchases. The new trophy system doesn’t have to be limited to games. Give out one to your repeat buyers and offer levels of trophies. This way you can show off your best customers and offer them rewards based on their trophy levels.

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Microsoft intended to get a head start on the competition by rushing the XBox 360 to market a full year before it’s competitors. While it did have some stumbles along the way, it did establish the foothold needed to grow. Being helped by it’s HDMI interface to HDTVs, it’s very strong online product called XBox LIVE, and a solid set of games it has established itself as a force to deal with. However it is also receiving criticism for not being backwards compatible with the original Xbox titles. New titles are their strong suit with a lot of the major game developers on board and producing a consistent string of hits.

PS3 was poised to be the big winner this time around if it had built on it’s successes of the PS2 release. However, Sony did what Sony always does and gave consumers more than what they wanted. Their decision to include a Blu-Ray player was solid for their movies division but directly affected the price making the units cost $500 to $700 on initial launch. This put the unit out of reach of most of the gaming community. Adding in features like a media center, web browser, and direct connection to the PSP is very nice but ultimately doesn’t speak to the gaming system. Most hardcore gamers already have a media center of some sort so Sony didn’t need to give them another one.

Finally, the lack of titles at launch ultimately hurts this system. We will leave the issue of the price increase of the games from $40 to $60 per title aside and just look at the complete lack of games other than cross platform titles. No one is really taking advantage of this system from a game development perspective and the lack of units sold will still have people questioning if it is worth it. One thing the system gets right is interoperability with things other than games. Blu-Ray movies are gorgeous and this unit is the primary reason why Blu-Ray titles are selling better than other High Def formats. Downloads of previews, games and music from Sony’s website is flawless and welcomed. It’s functionality as a media center leaves much to be desired but if you own a PSP, then you world got a whole lot brighter with the ability to switch back and forth between portable gaming and console. In the end, this unit is really geared for movie buffs and Sony loyalist who will get the most out of it by staying withing Sony’s line of products.

Nintendo was the dark horse with the Wii when it launched. Many people scoffed when Nintendo announced the system and that they would not be selling it for a loss like Sony and Microsoft do. What happened was nothing less than a phenomenon. Wii redesigned the way we play games by getting us involved in the action instead of passively playing it. This made the system incredibly easy to set up, learn, and use. That’s what gaming is all about. Having fun and PLAYING a game. The Wii does this and does it well.

The system does lack in titles just like the PS3 but the titles that are out are so engaging that their replay value is incredibly high. This has kept the demands for the console so high that several merchants still have sold out stock of the Wii. As soon as a new shipment arrives, they are gone. What the Wii does is just tap into you ability to have fun playing a game. While the 360 and PS3 go for the more intelligent gamer, Nintendo is happy to produce good puzzles and fun games for groups to share. It works for them, they do it well, and the public is responding.

If you look at the numbers, it is compelling. The folks at NextGen Wars are trying to keep track of the total number of units sold. They confirm what many suspected. XBox’s year lead and their solid online connection is keeping them in the lead at 11, 607,321 units sold so far. It’s the Wii that comes in next at 11,185,377. PS3 is lagging behind at 4,641,119. That breaks down to 42% XBox, 41% Wii, and 17% PS3.

As time goes on, the game titles will determine which console will be deemed the winner. Wii has a very strong hold on this but major releases like Rock Band and Guitar Hero III will surely give XBox and PS3 a boost. Sony has also gone into agreements with several MMORPs to bring a console version of their games to the PS3. Microsoft is strengthening their download service and LIVE game play for added features. While there is no clear winner yet, there are definitely some front runners.