" Why does Sony keep stealing ideas?" Is a better one. What's this, five patents infringed upon in three generations?
Pretty impressive, all things and whatnot.
It's just, the language of "can't catch a break" sounds like someone who has come to bad ends through no fault of their own. In past attempts to negotiate before going to court over these things, Sony's had a tendency to go "fuck you, we're Sony!"
None of the major video game system manufacturers are innocent of bad choices and decisions, though. Nintendo fucked themselves in the ass with the GameCube well before Sony became reputed for making systems that fall apart and stealing patents.
Microsoft was threatened with lawsuits over its warranty, and then again, and a third time. And that's just the warranty.
Sega'd still be in business, but they kept putting out platform after platform, failed to support them, and the GD ROM was both fragile and incredibly easy to pirate. Not to mention, the Dreamcast was the PS3 of its time. Comparably hard to program for, the most advanced system out, etc.
So it's not like any of them are saints. But Sony seems to like stepping on toes.