1 quick comment:
I really find the whole "compare prices of every system w/ inflation" argument or point utterly useless. It really doesn't matter, nor prove anything. Why?
As time goes on for electronics in any arena, prices become cheaper, not just because of Moore's law, but because of economics of the item(s). A great example is the PC market. Despite the fact that incomes, and such are far higher than when the PC launched, prices have dropped ALOT.
Example: In 1995 I bought a middle-of-the-road computer with monitor (a good one) and printer (again, a good one) for $2500 + Tax. In 2002, I bought a middle of the road computer for $650 w/o printer but included a decent monitor.
In 1991, a "good" home PC was around $3g, with cheapos being around $1k or more (except for the C64, mind you). Video game systems should be cheaper (at launch) than they currently are. It's not like theres a small niche market for video gaming anymore. Last Gen, almost 190m units will be sold of the "big 3".
This leads me to make a statement: All systems this cycle are overpriced dramatically. The Wii is a POS at $250 including a game (NES was $199 w/ game). Nintendo is making $100 per system in the US. That's a HUUUUUUUUUUGE markup.
Despite this, I still feel that both the 360 and PS3 are overpriced as well. Not because of specs like the Wii is, but in general, no gaming system is really worth anything over mass-market pricing ($300). I didn't pay $400 for my 360 at launch, and I never would. I paid $100 since I sold the 2nd one I had for a profit.
Back from the dead, I'm afraid.
