Sony is done. So done. Microsoft’s strategy is now self-evident. Total global domination of all life on planet earth. No just kidding.

That’s not that far from reality though judging by some key announcements at CES this week and some information that’s been public for a while:

a) Live Everywhere – The XBox Live services will be accessible from non-XBox devices. You’ll be able to play XBox games on a PC and play them multi-player with others who’re on an XBox. Certain major titles will be playable from a PC, namely Halo. This is not surprising given both the PC and 360′s support for DirectX 10.

You’ll be able to access Live from your mobile device, including Java based devices. I’d also bet access from the Zune is in the works.

b) Not new but part of the strategy; Media Extenders let you stream content from your desktop PC to an xBox in your living room. Your PC becomes a capable DVR and the xBox provides the accessibility. (My prediction: Home Theatre PCs will die).

c) Office Integration – Sharepoint 2007 supports a wide range of collaboration scenarios and sort of bridges the gap now between desktop and web-site.

d) Tie the whole thing together with WS-* through CardSpace for high-assurance identity federation.

e) Microsoft’s vision of a home server. Many power-users already have this in a home-grown sort of way but Microsoft’s making it official [LINK].

So why is Sony done?
a) Well Microsoft owns the desktop and with the potential to integrate your PC with your game-console, and the console playing more of a role within the home-theatre, why would anyone buy a PS3? Clearly Sony was not seeing the big picture.

b) Sony had a terrible year in ’06 with LOTS of bad press. Namely root-kit distribution and numerous DRM cases against them.

c) Lack of inventory for the PS3, high sales cost and three firmware patches within 6 weeks since launch. Plus Wii kicking it’s *ss in terms of fun-factor.

d) Massive global recall in laptop batteries.

The HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray format wars continue but ultimately adoption will win out over superior technology. 50GB vs 30GB? How much crap do consumers WANT on a DVD? I reckon Sony has not learned from it’s prior failures (Betamax) and HD-DVD + ubiquitous Microsoft support will slowly score enough of a margin to turn the tide away from Blu-Ray.