I don't hate the PS3!

I just think it's a flop.

At least, so far.

Now, as I don my fire-retardant suit in my nuclear bomb-proof bunker, let me elaborate.

I've gotten several e-mails from readers -- including one outraged fellow in Winnipeg (and I thought Canadians were such happy go-lucky hosers! I kid, I kid! No more hate mail, please!) -- and they all seem to have the same misunderstanding of what I was trying to say.

So let me try again.

There's nothing wrong with the technology inside the PS3.

It's astoundingly powerful, the Blu-ray drive is an exceptional movie player, the console is obviously manufactured to much higher standards than the red ring-prone Xbox 360, and I even like the glossy finish.

But Sony crossed a line when it priced the machine at $600, and very few consumers seem willing to join them on that side of the price border.

Historically, anything more than $300 has been a tough proposition for gamers to accept when it comes to buying a console. I know that the Atari 2600 or whatever was actually a zillion bucks in 2007 dollars when adjusted for inflation, but $300 seems to be the psychological barrier that simply makes people clutch their wallets a little tighter, inflation adjustment be darned (trying to keep it G-rated here).

Beyond that threshold -- and the PS3 is way past that threshold -- it simply gets harder and harder to attract mainstream buyers.

In retrospect, Sony should have probably ditched the Blu-ray player.

But there's no going back now, and so the stark reality is that the PS3 is simply selling terribly. And honestly, what exclusive PS3 games are on the horizon that are going to encourage average buyers to overlook the $600 price?

LittleBigPlanet? Home? Heavenly Sword? Lair? Those all look like fun titles, but does anyone out there who follows the industry really think those are system-selling franchises?

Once upon a time, GTA IV might have been that game, but with the news that Microsoft paid a stunning $50 million for exclusive downloadable content, I think the 360 version becomes the one to own.

Look, I appreciate what Sony tried to do with the PS3, and like I said, I really like the console. But I got mine for free as a review unit.

And I don't think Sony can afford to give away too many more for free.