"Baird employee Colin Sebastian..."
so you spent a few hours at CES and suddenly you are an "analyst" by stating all the obvious things everybody already knows?

I don't put much stock in this rumor, but I would be shocked if either console cost more than $400. I think that would be a huge mistake.

Colin Sebastian has been an "analyst" for quite some time, he's not new. He may be less known that Pachter, but he's been here for almost the same time.

OT: While I agree that $400 could and should be the price for the other next-gen consoles to be affordable , the rest of the guesses are less credible.

Why would they go with Intel after the fiasco they had with the first Xbox? And so far almost all rumors point to AMD for the CPU. Also, using custom designed parts allow them to buy those designs so no other Co. could use them as well as freeing them from having to pay royalties to Intel, AMD or Nvidia as well as giving them the option to go to any of the chip makers to get them done, giving them more control over the price and the jump to new process nodes.

499 will be the cheapest version. Factor in inflation 399 (2006)=449 (2013) and their has to be a decent gap between this gen en next gen in terms of pricing. They don't have to be bought by everyone right of the bat.

If 399 becomes the price, next gen will actually become cheaper then when Xbox 360 launched.

$399 will be a good price for consumers, but MS and Sony will find it difficult to make profits at that price. hmm, looks like gaming consoles are no longer a big money makers anymore.

im really getting excited for next gen consoles. i hope these rumers are true, wouldnt mind paying 400 for one

Man, I don't know. I just could not justify spending half a grand on a video game console. I'm sure there are many consumers who feel the same way. Especially now, with so many unemployed and underpaid.

if they make two models, one for 399$ and one would 449$ i wouldnt consider that a mistake though. but i honestly think they should make two models one for 349$ the other for 399$

In past threads, I've been saying that SONY needs to release a a good 399 model of their next system or I'm not buying until things pick up for them. I'm saying this not for myself, but for the future of the brand. For me personally, If there's a good 399 sku and a premium 599 sku with a great value, i'll pick up the 599 sku. They NEED that 399 sku for the masses, though.

Me neither so I will wait for prices to come down. But still there are people that are willing to pay 499 for a console, even in a bad economy. 

EDIT: subscriptions could very well lower the prices from 499 to 299 + 2 years