I don't know if you've noticed, but Sony did some restructuring this week, where they basically moved Ken Kutaragi up (and somewhat out of the way) and put Kaz Hirai in direct charge of Sony Computer Entertainment. There's a lot of speculation right now about what this move means - If you remember, Microsoft did something similar right after the Xbox 360 launch. Some claim that it's indicative of Sony preparing to move away from manufacturing game consoles and return to being a software developer while others feel that Kutaragi is being groomed to take over for Sir Howard Stringer as head of Sony Corp. at some future date.
My take on it? (none of what follows is official, just my own speculation based on what I've seen and read) - I personally don't buy the "Sony plans on making the PS3 it's last console" speculation, but I do believe that Sony is getting ready to concentrate on software (Hirai's specialty) over the now completed hardware end of the PS3 (Kutaragi's specialty) - Again, this would be very similar to Microsoft moving J Allard out of the way when the 360 launched and moving Peter Moore into the spotlight.
There's been a general sense that while Kutaragi may have pushed the limits on the PS3 hardware, he doesn't grasp just how important the software end of the business is - as indicated by his allowing so many potential exclusives slip away and the generally poor way Sony has been dealing with third party developers.
Hirai supposedly has a much greater understanding of just how important the games are to a system and rumor has it, he plans on trying to repair a lot of the damage that's been done to Sony's rep with third party developers. Only time will tell if it's too late for that.
Again, this is just my twenty-five cents on the situation - your mileage may vary.
